Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

To assign the first movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony the sonata form would truly be a subjective judgment. I will first explain how this movement fits thesonata form; then I will discuss how it diverges from this form in rather fascinating ways.

As noted by Robert Hughes, "Beethoven was not only the embodiment of all that was before him, but also of that which was yet to come" (Hughes 486). The truth of this may be seen by comparing Beethoven's 5th Symphony in C Minor to Haydn, the father of Symphony, and his 95th in C Minor. While Haydn's symphony is both playful and dramatic, Beethoven's symphony is grander both in terms of scale and vision. He expands the size of the orchestra to incorporate the sounds swirling around, underlying, and depicting the arrival of Fate in a rhythm-driven, thematic symphony that takes Haydn's form and runs with it as though to the top of a mountain peak. This paper will analyze the symphonies by movement, according to form, size, structure, tonalities, melodies, orchestral sound and overall mood and effect.

For the second and final concert report, I listened to the performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, as played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven lived in Germany during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was an influential figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in western music. The performance requires a large number of instruments, with woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, and even a choir during the 4th movement.

Beethoven draws the listener in by providing multiple repetitions of the short fast-slow-fast waves. As I listened, I took notes about things I felt while hearing this. I felt like each time the symphony almost mellowed out with the violins, the listener was relaxed, but then the “fast” part came which included more instruments, and I felt awakened. When all the instruments came to a perfect harmony, it was soothing and satisfying to hear. I could also instantly see the emotions painted on conductor Claudio Abbado’s face as the wave increased in volume before mellowing out

25. What is significant about Beethoven’s 9th symphony? In the ninth symphony the chorus and orchestra join together and show the universal love for brotherhood as well as God.

Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the greatest composers and a musical genius. Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany and died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria. Beethoven came from a family of musicians just like many other great composers before him had. At the age of only 11 Beethoven began serving as an assistant to the court organist and had several published piano compositions at the age of 12. At the age of 18, he became the legal guardian of both of his younger brothers, after the death of his mother and dismissal of his father from the court choir because of alcoholism. By this team Beethoven was also a court organist, violinist and responsible for composing and performing.

Beethoven contributed one of the most significant musical developments through his fifth and ninth symphonies. He used a musical motive as the basic of his entire piece. (Beethoven described the motive as “Fate knocks at the door”.) It was the first time in history that anyone had done such a thing for a multi-movement piece. Beethoven’s contribution has become a norm in the music world, even to this day.

I attended Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on October 14, at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Southwestern Seminary Oratorio Chorus, directed by C. David Keith, performed it. Ludwig Van Beethoven composed the work. He composed it between 1811-1824. Beethoven composed the work in D minor, Op. 125 (“Choral”). His Ninth Symphony was his last symphony to compose. It was preceded by eight other symphonies. I was attracted to this work because it was the first symphony to include a choral. I found it astonishing that Beethoven was completely deaf when he finished this work.

“Symphony No. 9”, better known as “Ode to Joy”, was written by Beethoven in the years 1822 to 1824. The performing forces in this piece are an orchestra, four vocalists, and a chorus. The genre of the piece is symphony. The piece is comprised of four movements. The first movement is in Allegro form. While the second movement is in Scherzo form. The third movement is in Adagio form. Finally, the fourth and final movement is in Recitative form. The key for Beethoven’s ninth symphony is D minor. The tempo changes frequently throughout Beethoven’s symphony, “Ode to Joy”. In the first movement the tempo is allegro. During the second, the tempo is molto vivace. In the third movement the tempo is adagio molto e cantabile. Then, in the fourth and final movement the tempo changes a couple of times. The tempos that appear in the fourth movement are presto; allegro molto assai (Alla marcia); andante maestoso;

According to Levy, David Benjamin, the premiere of Symphony No. 9 involved the largest orchestra ever assembled by Beethoven. The classical orchestra was quite small and it was about 40 members. But Beethoven’s ninth requested up to 70 members. Its orchestra was unusually massive, and it was extraordinary.

The ninth symphony is propulsive and with many tempos, it has rushing violins and soaring voices. The ninth symphony is two hours in before the entrances of the choir and soloist. The help of Anna for Beethoven forms a bond between

Symphony number nine in D minor, Op.125, the "Choral" is the outstanding piece accompanied with a vocal chorus. Beethoven began concentrated work on the piece in 1822. It occupied him throughout 1823, and he completed it in February 1824. The first performance took place at the Karntnertor Theater in Vienna on May 7, 1824. The deaf composer stood on stage beating time and turning the pages of his score, but the real conducting was done by Michael Umlauf. The first American performance was given on May 20, 1846 by the New York Philharmonic under George Loder. Its performance can never be an ordinary event, just another concert, it is something special because the feeling you get inside when you hear

I choose “Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, "Choral": IV. Ode to Joy” composed Beethoven. I have no specific reason why I picked this song, besides the fact that I admired Beethoven when I was young. When I listened to the piece the first time I was surprised by its dynamics. In my head I have this preconceived idea that classical music was soft. I did a little research on the classical era and discovered; that music was an important part of society at the time and Beethoven was one of the top composers at the time. I was also informed that the all classical music was dynamic, the song could be quiet one minute then loud the next. In the beginning of “Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, "Choral": IV. Ode to Joy” it seemed to drag, and then

The early piano sonatas of Beethoven deserve special mention. Although his first published examples of concertos and trios and the first two symphonies are beneath the masterpieces of Mozart and Haydn, the piano sonatas bear an unmistakably Beethovian stamp: grandiose in scope and length, and innovative in their range of expression. The sonatas were able to move expression from terrible rage to peals of laughter to deep depression so suddenly. Capturing this unpredictable style in his music, a new freedom of expression which broke the bounds of Classical ideals, was to position Beethoven as a disturbed man in the minds of some of his contemporaries. Furthermore, he was to be seen as the father of Romanticism and the single most important innovator of music in the minds of those after him. (Bookspan 27).

Beethoven’s symphony No. 5 in c minor, Op. 67, I has four movements allegro con brio, andante con moto, scherzo allegro, and allegro. The first movement is a sonata that contains a motif and fortissimo phases using imitation and sequence with a constant flowing melody. The second movement contains two themes in alternation. The first theme starts later followed by the second which later dies of as a third theme is born followed by fortissimo The third movement contains a scherzo and trio and is in ternary form the theme is immediately stated and continually gets revived. The fourth and final movement starts immediately after the third and is a variation of a sonata. The piece has strong cadence and recapitulates only to finish in an extremely