Beethoven Fifth Symphony

Analysis of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony demonstrates that this work is the quintessential example of the sonata form, as well as an embodiment of the most fundamental principle in symphonic composition that follows the classical pattern, which is the “flowering of an extended composition from a kernel by a process of organic growth” (Machlis 224).

The first movement, which is marked Allegro con brio, which means “lively, with vigor,” is based on a motif that is rhythmic in nature and consists of “’three shorts and a long’” (Machlis 224). This rhythmic idea is a feature that dominates the entire work. It is announced initially by both the strings and the clarinet, as Beethoven holds the full force of the orchestra in reserve. These opening

measures also announce the home key, which is C minor (Machlis 224). The first theme evolves organically out of the principal rhythmic motive and consists of repetition of the “three shorts and a long” at different “levels of the scale” and with “altered intervals,” but all with the same “germinating rhythm” (Machlis 224). There is enormous power in this movement, which originates from the “single-mindedness” of the underlying rhythmic motive (Machlis 225). The rhythm and the music pulsate. From this basic motive, Beethoven next introduces a bridge to the related key of E-flat major (Machlis 225). The first 58 measures of this remarkable first movement do little more than repeat the basic motive over and over again in different forms (Grove 149).
The lyrical second theme introduces a brief respite of relaxation, but even at this point the “headlong course of the movement” continues (Machlis 225). The violins, clarinet and flute each take up the gentle melody of the second theme in turn, but, as they do so, the persistent rhythm of three shorts and a long continues in the cells and double basses (Machlis 225). The Exposition is then concluded with a brief section, the codetta, which reaffirms the basic motivic rhythm (Machlis 225). In the Development, which follows, Beethoven creates a tightly woven fabric from the basic motive (Machlis 225). The transition back to the home key of C-minor climaxes in a fortissimo restatement of the symphony’s defining rhythm of three shorts and a long, which is performed by the full orchestra. This Restatement is briefly interrupted by an oboe solo, which consists of a “note of pathos” that momentarily decreases the inherent tension (Machlis 226). Then, the second theme is transposed to C major, which is followed by an extended coda that has the basic rhythm remerge with “explosive energy” (Machlis 226).
The second movement, which is marked Andate con moto (“at a going pace, with movement”), is imbued with a sense of “serenity and strength” (Machlis 226). Written in A-flat, the second movement takes the form of presenting a theme with variations. There are two melodic ideas presented. The first theme is presented by the violas and cellos and this is followed by “one of those hymnic” melodies that are so characteristic of Beethoven’s style and this theme echoes the work’s underlying rhythmic motive of “three shorts and a long” (Machlis 226). In this movement, Beethoven incorporates all of the methods that are typically used to create variations. This includes “changes in melodic outline, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, register, key, mode and type of accompaniment” and these strategies are all applied to the two stated themes (Machlis 227). As the second theme undergoes similar variation, it gathers strength, which culminates in it being proclaimed by the full orchestra (Machlis 227). The codea, which is marked Piu mosso, uses a motive played by the bassoon that is derived from the first theme and this is contrasted against syncopated chords played by the strings. A forceful crescendo closes this movement (Machlis 227).
The third movement, the Scherzo, returns the music to the sober home key of C minor (Machlis 227).

Emerging from the “depths of the bass,” there is a feature which is characteristic of Beethoven, a “rocket theme,” which is played by the double basses and cellos (Machlis 227). At this point, the basic motive of the first movement, the “three shorts and a long,” is loudly restated (fortissimo) by the horns. As with the first movement, the music, which is nourished by “dynamic changes and a crescendo,” increasingly gains power and drive (Machlis 228). At this point, there is a “humorous motive of running eighth notes stated by the cellos and double basses,” which is then repeated in higher registers by the “violas, second violins and first violins” (Machlis 228). Berlioz once described this motive as the “’gambols of a frolicsome elephant’” (Machlis 228). The Scherzo (section A) is represented again, but in a modified form and this is followed by a “mysterious transitional passage” that evolves from both the Scherzo theme and a restatement of the basic rhythm, which is first presented by a variety of instruments and then “tapped out” by the kettledrums (Machlis 228). The Scherzo theme then undergoes “motivic expansion of its last three notes” (Machlis 228). Tension mounts until the entire orchestra, “in a blaze or light,” breaks into the “triumphal Allegro in C major” (Machlis 228).

Machlis also notes that Beethoven has dramatic changes of tonal color through this symphony. The first movement is written in a “somber minor,” while the second conveys serenity through the use of a major and the third returns to the minor before the darkness of C minor is dispelled through the triumphal finale (Machlis 229). In the finale, three instruments are played for the first time in the work—the piccolo, double bassoon and the trombone—which creates a brilliance and fullness to the

sound.
The fourth movement faces Beethoven with a challenge, which is how to maintain the tension that has preceded it. However, the rhythmic “energy, bigness of conception and orchestral sonority” of the fourth movement carry the Fifth Symphony towards its “overpowering conclusion” (Machlis 229). The opening measures introduce a musical idea based on a “chord-and-scale pattern” and the theme that follows this idea presents a bridge that transitions from C to G major, wherein G major is expressed in a lively theme that contains triplets (Machlis 229). The Development in this movement is characterized by its “dynamic rhythm and free modulation,” as well as by a return to the “three shorts and a long” in the same form as in the third movement (Machlis 229). The tension slackens briefly, which allows Beethoven once again to build tension for the Recapitulation that is followed by a coda that restates material previously heard (Machlis 229). The defining motive is once more expressed in the concluding Presto, as Beethoven fashions an “overwhelming torrent” of sound as the Tonic chord, the “source and all of all activity—is hurled forth” over and over again by the orchestra (Machlis 229).