Beethoven Fifth Symphony Analysis

516 Words2 Pages

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, like all symphonies at that time, was in four movements. The First Movement was in sonata form; which was considered to be quite powerful, as it opened up with the Fate motif. This usually ran throughout the First Movement, in one way or another. Beethoven's music often strikes with a dramatic explosion with wonderful shades of orchestral color; from the dark trombones to the sweet woodwinds, this piece definitely made an impact worth remembering, that also lasted throughout the ages. And although Liszt’s piano transcription of the First Movement of Beethoven’s Great Fifth Symphony in C minor, Op. 67 does not possess the same dramatic effect of the orchestral version, it is melodically almost identical and is …show more content…

This lyrical movement is a lot calmer than the First Movement, but still has some grand moments. It has two main themes, which intertwine and have a little "theme and variations" game. The Third Movement was in the scherzo, which is a rounded binary form; and just like the minuet, it is usually played with an accompanying trio, followed by a repeat of the scherzo, thus creating the ABA or ternary form. At this point, we return to the dramatics; as Beethoven decides to go for a more delightfully dark, doom and gloom scherzo. Technically this part is more of a waltz, since it is in three–fourths time; however, Beethoven manages to slow it down, thus placing a huge emphasis on the first beat, in order for it to sound more like a thundering slow march in four–fourths time. The same can be said for the Second Movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

The Fourth Movement was considered the finale; or the last movement of a sonata, symphony, or concerto, the ending of a piece of non–vocal classical music which has several movements. It was also considered the prolonged final sequence at the end of an act of an opera or work of musical theatre. The explosively joyful finale is my favorite movement of the Fifth Symphony. The music sounds like a grand march, perhaps either celebrating the defeat or maybe the acceptance of Fate. Either way you think about it, it is still enormous, great fun to listen

Open Document