Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

THE STORY

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 stands as a tour de force which, as the author and critic E. T. A. Hoffmann pronounced, “irresistibly sweeps the listener into the wonderful spirit-realm of the infinite.” Beethoven began his Fifth Symphony in 1804, but did not complete the work until 1808.

While Beethoven had previously experimented with expanding the scope of 18th-century symphonic convention with his Third Symphony (“Eroica”) in 1803, his Fifth Symphony unites the four movements of the symphonic form in a novel way. Rather than loosely related episodes, the movements of the Fifth Symphony are intimately connected through a network of similar themes and motivic ideas.

Beginning in the tumultuous key of C minor with the immortal “Fate” motive permeating every measure, the work weaves through a tranquil theme and variations in A-flat before returning to a brooding Scherzo third movement in the original C minor. Directly from the Scherzo bursts the triumphant C-major fourth movement, a moment Hoffmann described as “a brilliant shaft of blinding sunlight suddenly penetrating the darkness of night.”

LISTEN FOR

• The arresting opening “Fate” motive which Beethoven uses throughout the movement
• The “double” variation form of the second movement, which states not one, but two themes to be developed: the first tranquil, the second foreshadowing the grandeur of the fourth movement
• The return of the “Fate” motive rhythm in the third movement horns
• The seamless transition from the third movement into the fourth movement—the timpani build anticipation as sparse strings gradually introduce the C major key, culminating in the triumphant resolution to the initial “Fate” motive

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings

Notes on the music by Andrew Moenning