Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies

You are sitting in a music hall in Vienna. The date is December 22, 1808. It's 6:30 in the evening, and you are about to sit through a concert that premiers Ludwig van Beethoven's two new symphonies, his No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, and his No. 6 in F major, Op. 68. You're about to have a great experience, right?

Wrong.

The concert hall was poorly heated, and the concert itself lasted four hours. Some of the pieces played that night were poorly rehearsed, and the orchestra was cross with Herr Beethoven. The concert opened with his Sixth symphony, but, fearing that the audience would be too fatigued to properly appreciate his Fifth at the end of the evening, Beethoven added hastily written works to the end of the concert, rather than shorten the program. One choral piece was stopped in mid-performance due to mistakes (which were Beethoven's fault) and started over, extending the concert even further.

The Fifth Symphony is one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music, starting, as it does, with the famous "Fate" theme (da-da-da-dum!). Curiously, it was started before his Fourth Symphony, and would have been his fourth had he not been given a commission to write a symphony from a Count Oppersdorff. Beethoven started the Fifth in 1804, but interrupted its composition in 1806 to fill the commission (the Fourth was premiered in March of 1807). The Fifth was completed in early 1808.

Beethoven's Fifth Symphony transforms from the dark themes in C minor in the first movement (with simple motives) to the triumphant themes in C major in the fourth and final movement.

The Sixth Symphony, nicknamed the "Pastoral," consists of five movements, rather than the typical four. This symphony was written just after Beethoven finished the Fifth, in 1808. The work is an expression of the composer's love of nature. It is unusual in that there is no break between the third and fourth movements, as well as between the fourth and fifth movements. For the first movement, Beethoven inscribed as, "The cheerful impressions excited by arriving in the country." Birds can be heard through the flutes that play during the first theme of the movement.

The second movements is annotated, "By the stream." Here, too, bird song is heard, this time in the trilling of the 1st violins. The water can be heard in the familiar use of triplet notes, a common device in music for depicting water.

Movement three is described as, "A happy get-together of peasants." There are three "dances" played, which serve as themes for the movement. The second dance was inspired by the wind band at Beethoven's favorite tavern, "The Three Ravens." The music of this dance reflects the limited ability of the band, from the best player being the clarinet and thus having the most difficult part, to the bassoonist, who has the easiest, a comical recurring counterpoint that plays over and over, and consists of only three or four notes. The movement ends with the dance being interrupted by the approach of bad weather, which will be depicted in the fourth movement.

There is no break after the third movement. "Storm" is the title given to the fourth movement, where raindrops cause one to look up at the beginning. Soon, there are lightning flashes and thunderclaps, and the deluge begins. At the end of this movement, the storm has finally passed, and the thunder can be heard in the distance.

Without a break, the symphony continues non-stop into the fifth and final movement. Beethoven describes this movement as, "The shepherd's hymn, gratitude and thanksgiving after the storm." The introduction, a shepherd's call, is played by solo clarinet and horn. This is followed by the shepherd's hymn.

It is interesting that these two symphonies were written back-to-back. They are very different in mood. By 1808 Beethoven's hearing had deteriorated to the point where he could not hear the softly-played sections of music by an orchestra. Though difficult to sit through at their premier, these symphonies have become very popular.