Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Essay

Beethoven’s symphony No. 5 in C minor has four movements. The first movement is “Allegro con brio”. In the first movement, Beethoven uses sonata form and duple meter to express “fate knocking at the door.” When this part Played by the string’s instruments, it gives me a serious threatening and nervous feeling. In the second theme, Beethoven used Solo French horns to present quiet and peaceful fate, but this atmosphere did not last long. Low strings and descending line are bringing tough, dark and dangerous atmosphere. The second movement is Andante con moto. The rhythm is slow and the meter is triple. It utilizes theme and variations. Theme A is a recitative and played by violas and cellos. It presents a warm feeling. Variation B uses Trumpets,

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.

The symphony is in four very powerful and entertaining movements. The first movement begins in the pianissimo tone with the strings section, but quickly enters the fortissimo tone with the introduction of the woodwind, brass and percussion sections. The dynamics of the musical melody varies throughout the movement moving from crescendo to decrescendo modes. The first movement reminds you of a raging storm from soft blowing winds to thunder and lighting. The audience is mesmerized by this first movement of the sonata.

The music played throughout all of the concerts adhered to be diverse. The instruments, the individuals performing, and the conductor all proved to be outstanding. The concerts proved to be interesting as I witnessed them, first hand.

In a variant of sonata form, Beethoven recalls themes from the third movement. Berlioz’s fourth movement is quite dramatic as an execution is portrayed in the music, one must take into account that this was not the finale of the Fantastique as Berlioz decided to add another scene in the text. On the other hand, following the man’s death, there is a roaring triumphant ending; similar to Beethoven’s extended coda. (Please see next page for example).

The third movement lead straight into the fourth, and that lead into the fifth movement without missing a beat. The fifth and last movement of this symphony is in sonata rondo form, which is a blend of the two. A rondo is when the first theme, A, repeats several times with other music (B, C). This form then also shares characteristics of the sonata, so it has a development section as well that is common in sonata

I have never attended an orchestral concert. Although my taste ranges between several different types of music, the only concerts I have attended are of the rock and country variety. I was not sure what to expect in attending The Houston Civic Symphony’s performance on Sunday, October 9, 2016. It was held at the Dunham Theater within the Morris Cultural Arts Center at Houston Baptist University. Once inside I saw the beautiful stage with all of the performers warming up and three stories of seating. Many of the patrons were in the age range of 30 and up. I did see some kids and young adults but not many. The HCS marked its 50th year since the very first performance this season. The first performance happened in 1996 when a group of music lovers in Houston came together to play a concert just because they wanted to play and share their love of music with others. From that day they became known as the Houston Civic Symphony. Some of the players I watched in this performance have been with the Symphony for 25 years or more while others are barely reaching their first year if not their first performance; only two of the players have been there since the very first season. Out of the three pieces performed the one that caught my attention the most was the last, it hold a powerful message of fear and desperation for

Then follows a scherzo with trio - Molto vivace - also in D minor. The scherzo itself is in sonata form with all parts repeated. The octave tuned drums immediately announcing the important role they play in the tonality of the movement as a whole. Then follows a hushed fugato, which serves an introductory purpose as the full force of the orchestra. Then follows a more harmonic path with the utmost vigor. The second subject in C major adds an unusual harmonic flavor. The trio has a quasi-pastoral flavor, The trio is played only once, although Beethoven fools us into believing we will here it once more at the end, like in the first movement but it abruptly ends.

The string section begins to take on the theme in sequence and the orchestra eventually crescendos and the trombones, cellos, and basses play the first theme again. The woodwinds play a transition theme and the piece moves into Theme 2, presented first by the violin and flute. Theme 2 reappears in the development section, where the symphony takes on a darker tone and builds again to a crescendo. The orchestra then softly moves to the recapitulation, in which Theme 1 is restated by the french horns and then the oboe, after which the strings play the same theme in an ascending sequence. The transition theme reappears, followed by Theme 2 again, and the first movement closes out with a powerful coda with the orchestra playing at full

This piece is from the Romantic period, written in 1901 and published in 1902. Mahler wrote a large three part symphony intended to be played with a large orchestra of at least 36 instruments. He wrote the score with the intention of using the instruments in new ways and exploring the capabilities of the instruments and their ranges. The third part of this symphony, the Adagietto, is meant to bring a simplicity to the beauty of the piece. This piece ends with a rondo.

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

Mahler’s symphonies like folk and popular styles. This music still speaks with a clear of expression to listeners today, giving a powerful sense of the rich musical environment in which Mahler want people to hear. In fact, they are far more complex and blurred than has been played in the secondary literature. This style considers the Third Symphony from a number of perspectives: their critical reception,

Putting together a performance of a Mahler symphony, with its massive forces length, always requires tremendous resources. As such, it can be very disappointing when, investement in these resources result in a subpar performance. Take for example Christoph Eschenbach’s performance with L’Orchestre de Paris in 2009, which is very underwhelming, especially when compared to Gergiev’s performance with the World Orchestra for Peace at the BBC proms in 2010, based on, the technical skill exhibited, attention to details in the score, and interpretation of emotional content.

Thus, the Second, Third and Forth Symphonies, alternatively known as ‘the Wunderhorn Symphonies’, exhibit a folk-like attribute that moderates in Mahler’s later works (Mitchell, 1975).

The symphony consists of four movements. The first movement, Allegro vivace, is in sonata form. In the first theme (Ex.1), many sequences were used to construct the melody. And being inspired by Italian opera, Mendelssohn here tired to delay the closure of the theme as much as possible. While the second theme, it shares the similar materials as the first theme. In the development section, although a new theme appears, it consists of some materials of the first theme. Then, all these three themes appear again in the recapitulation, creating a sense of unity.