Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

 

Beethoven

(17 December 1770 -- 26 March 1827) 

 

Symphony No. 5 in C minor Op. 67

 

 

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804–1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music, and one of the most frequently played symphonies.^[1] First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as one of the most important works of the time".

It begins by stating a distinctive four-note "short-short-short-long" motif twice: ( listen (help·info))

The symphony, and the four-note opening motif in particular, are known worldwide, with the motif appearing frequently in popular culture, from disco to rock and roll, to appearances in film and television.

Since the Second World War it has sometimes been referred to as the "Victory Symphony".^[2] "V" is the Roman character for the number five; the phrase "V for Victory" became well known as a campaign of the Allies of World War II. That Beethoven's Victory Symphony happened to be his Fifth (or vice versa) is coincidence. Some thirty years after this piece was written, the rhythm of the opening phrase – "dit-dit-dit-dah" – was used for the letter "V" in Morse code, though this is probably also coincidental.^[3]

The BBC, during World War Two, prefaced its broadcasts to Europe with those four notes, played on drums.

 

1804년에 교향곡 3번 E플랫장조, 즉 ‘영웅 교향곡’을 발표하며 음악사에 새 장을 연 베토벤은 그 여세를 몰아 곧바로 다음 교향곡에 착수했다. 그것은 전작 이상으로 베토벤 자신의 개성이 강조된 작품으로서, 한층 절약된 소재와 극도로 치밀한 기법, 그리고 더없이 강렬한 극적 전개를 통해서 교향곡사에 또 한 번의 변혁을 일으킬 운명이었다. 이 작품이 바로 오늘날 모든 교향곡, 나아가 ‘클래식 음악의 대명사’처럼 여겨지고 있는 교향곡 5번 C단조, 일명 ‘운명 교향곡’이다.

그런데 그 작업은 얼마 후 뒷전으로 밀려나게 된다. 1806년, 베토벤은 어둡고 강렬한 ‘C단조 교향곡’ 대신에 한결 밝고 유려한 교향곡 4번 B플랫장조를 먼저 완성한다. 또 피아노 협주곡 4번 G장조, 바이올린 협주곡 D장조 등 주로 밝은 성향의 작품들을 연이어 완성시켰다. 아울러 ‘여성에 의한 구원’이라는 주제를 내포한 그의 유일한 오페라 <피델리오>의 초기 형태가 모습을 드러낸 것도 그 무렵이다. 대체 그 당시 베토벤에게 무슨 일이 있었던 걸까?

고난의 삶에 잠시 비춘 햇살

1804년, 베토벤에게 필생의 사랑이 찾아왔다. 그녀의 이름은 요제피네 폰 다임. 그녀는 원래 헝가리의 귀족인 브룬스비크 가문의 둘째 딸로, 1799년 봄부터 빈에 체류하면서 언니 테레제와 함께 베토벤에게 피아노 레슨을 받았던 적이 있었다. 그리고 그 시절에 그들 자매와 베토벤은 ‘생명이 다할 때까지 지속될 마음의 우정’을 맺기도 했다. ▶19세기에 그려진 요제피네 초상화.

1799년 여름, 요제피네는 어머니의 결정에 따라 27세 연상의 요제프 다임 백작과 결혼식을 올리고 빈에 정착했으며, 이후 ‘다임 백작부인’으로서 네 명의 자식을 낳았다. 그녀는 꾸준히 피아노 레슨을 받고 때때로 집에서 음악회를 개최하면서 베토벤과의 인연을 이어 나갔는데, 한편으론 문학과 음악에 별 관심이 없는 남편 밑에서 외롭고 불행했다. 더구나 집안의 경제사정은 갈수록 악화되었고, 급기야 1804년 1월에는 남편이 병사하고 말았다. 꽃다운 20대 중반의 나이에 미망인이 되어 경제적 곤궁에다 신경쇠약에까지 시달리고 있었던 요제피네에게 위로의 손길을 뻗친 사람이 바로 베토벤이었다. 이제 우정은 연정으로 발전했고, 두 사람은 1804년 가을부터 한동안 연인 관계로 지냈던 것으로 보인다.

앞서 언급한 밝은 성향의 작품들이 작곡된 것이 바로 그 시기였다. 덕분에 ‘C단조 교향곡’의 완성은 무기한 연기되었는데, 아마도 요제피네와의 행복한 시간이 베토벤의 마음을 어둡고 격렬한 음악에서 밝고 온화한 음악 쪽으로 돌려놓았던 것이 아닐까? 그 시절의 작품들에 잘 나타나 있듯이, 요제피네와의 사랑은 베토벤의 고달픈 삶에 비친 가장 찬란하고 감미로운 햇살이었다.

그러나 그 사랑은 애초부터 오래 지속되지 못할 운명이었다. 요제피네가 귀족이었던 데 비해 베토벤은 평민이었고, 만일 베토벤과 결혼하게 되면 요제피네는 법에 따라 자신의 아이들에 대한 양육권을 상실하게 될 처지였다. 또 베토벤은 예나 지금이나 앞날이 불투명한 ‘음악가’라는 직업에 몸담고 있었고, 치명적인 청각 이상에 시달리고 있기까지 했다. 사랑이 깊어질수록 요제피네의 고민도 깊어졌고 베토벤의 호소는 절박해졌다. 그러나 결국 요제피네는 집안사람들의 반대에 굴복하고 만다. 1807년이 저물어 갈 즈음 그녀는 베토벤에게 결별을 선언했고, 그 후 두 사람의 사이는 소원해졌다.

교향곡과 드라마

베토벤이 어둡고 투쟁적인 음악으로 복귀한 것은 요제피네와의 연애전선이 하강곡선을 그리던 무렵의 일이었다. 즉 1806년 말의 <32개의 변주곡 C단조>와 1807년 초의 <코리올란 서곡>을 거쳐, 베토벤은 마침내 ‘C단조 교향곡’을 다시 붙잡았던 것이다. 그 사이 번호가 4번에서 5번으로 밀린 새 교향곡은 1808년에 완성되었고, 같은 해 12월 22일 안 데어 빈 극장에서 베토벤 자신의 지휘로 자매작인 ‘전원 교향곡’과 함께 초연되었다. 그리고 얼마 지나지 않아 베토벤의 가장 성공적이고 상징적인 역작으로 자리매김하게 된다.

그런데 때때로 이 교향곡의 표제처럼 여겨지기도 하는 ‘운명’이라는 호칭은 베토벤 자신이 붙인 것은 아니다. 엄밀히 말해서 ‘운명’은 그저 별명에 지나지 않는다. 이 별명은 베토벤의 후년에 비서 노릇을 했던 안톤 신틀러의 증언에서 유래했는데, 그가 곡의 첫머리에 등장하는 유명한 ‘4음 모티브’가 무엇을 나타내는 것이냐고 물었을 때 베토벤이 “운명은 이렇게 문을 두드린다”라고 대답했다는 것이다. 문제는 신틀러의 여러 증언이나 주장들이 후대에 와서 거짓으로 판명되었기 때문에 이 증언도 신빙성이 떨어진다는 데 있다.

그럼에도 불구하고 여전히 많은 사람들이 스스럼없이 이 곡을 ‘운명 교향곡’이라고 부른다. 거기에는 편의상의 이유도 있겠지만, 아마도 이 곡이 ‘어둠과 고난을 헤치고 광명과 환희로!’라는 베토벤 고유의 모토를 다른 어떤 곡보다도 명료하게, 효과적으로 응축해서 구현한 것처럼 보이기 때문일 것이다. 특히 첫 악장에는 일평생 청각장애, 신분의 장벽, 정치적 격변기의 혼란 등을 겪으며 숱한 역경과 맞서 싸워야 했던 베토벤의 처절한 투쟁 상이 고스란히 투영되어 있는 듯하다. 이런 관점에서 보자면 이것은 한 편의 교향곡이라기보다는 차라리 감동적인 휴먼 드라마라고 해야 할 것이다. [▶빈의 베토벤 광장에 서있는 베토벤 기념상. 아래 기단부 왼쪽에 바위에 묶인 프로메테우스가, 오른쪽에 뮤즈상이 자리하고 있다. ]

여기서 우리는 원래 이 작품이 ‘영웅 교향곡’의 바로 다음 작품으로 구상되었다는 사실을 상기할 필요가 있겠다. 전작이 ‘이상적 영웅 상’ 혹은 ‘이상향에 대한 동경과 의지’를 펼쳐 보인 것이라면, 이 ‘운명 교향곡’은 그 이상을 향한 인간의 투쟁과 고뇌, 그리고 궁극적 성취 과정을 형상화한 음악적 드라마라고 볼 수 있지 않을까.

하지만 동시에 우리는 이 작품을 ‘운명’이라는 표제 아닌 표제에 묶어 둠으로써 범할 수 있는 오류 또한 염두에 두어야 한다. 잠시 시선을 돌려 보면, 이 작품이 당시 나폴레옹의 프랑스와 전쟁을 벌이고 있었던 독일-오스트리아의 민족주의 또는 애국주의와 관련되어 있다는 역사적 고찰도 존재하며, 베토벤이 즐겨 언급하던 고대 그리스-로마의 비극을 암시한다는 견해도 있다.

무엇보다 이 작품은 한 편의 ‘교향곡’이다. 베토벤이 딛고 서있었던 ‘고전주의의 총아’이자 ‘기악음악의 꽃’으로 일컬어지는 장르를 대표하는 작품인 것이다. 따라서 우리는 이 작품에 담긴 베토벤의 정신이나 주제의식을 논하는 것에 못지않게, 그 순수한 음악적 측면을 주시해야 한다.

다시 말해, 상상을 초월하는 리듬의 응집력, 주제 재료의 경제성(‘운명의 동기’로 대변되는), 진취성과 혁신성(1악장 중간의 절묘한 오보에 카덴차, 3악장에서 콘트라베이스가 빚어내는 효과, 관악 파트에 피콜로와 콘트라파곳을 추가한 것, 피날레에서 트롬본을 등장시킨 것, 스케르초 악장의 주제를 피날레 악장에서 다시 등장시킨 것 외) 등을 두루 살펴야만 비로소 이 작품의 진정한 매력과 가치를 온전히 가늠할 수 있다.

그중에서도 특히 첫 악장에서 두드러지는 변화무쌍한 리듬 및 프레이징의 변화, 즉 ‘리듬의 역동성’이야말로 우리가 이 곡을 들을 때마다 감탄하며 압도되는 이유의 핵심일 것이다. 또한 그것은 외형적으로 고전적인 틀을 유지하고 있는 이 교향곡이 종래의 모든 규칙과 제약을 뛰어넘어 새로운 경지를 개척한 원동력이기도 하다.

 

Development

Beethoven in 1804, the year he began work on the Fifth Symphony. Detail of a portrait by W. J. Mähler

 

The Fifth Symphony had a long development. The first sketches date from 1804 following the completion of the Third Symphony.^[7] However, Beethoven repeatedly interrupted his work on the Fifth to prepare other compositions, including the first version of Fidelio, the Appassionata piano sonata, the three Razumovsky string quartets, the Violin Concerto, the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Fourth Symphony, and the Mass in C. The final preparation of the Fifth Symphony, which took place in 1807–1808, was carried out in parallel with the Sixth Symphony, which premiered at the same concert.

Beethoven was in his mid-thirties during this time; his personal life was troubled by increasing deafness.^[8] In the world at large, the period was marked by the Napoleonic Wars, political turmoil in Austria, and the occupation of Vienna by Napoleon's troops in 1805.

Premiere

Main article: Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808

The Fifth Symphony was premiered on 22 December 1808 at a mammoth concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna consisting entirely of Beethoven premieres, and directed by Beethoven himself.^[9] The concert lasted for more than four hours. The two symphonies appeared on the program in reverse order: the Sixth was played first, and the Fifth appeared in the second half.^[10] The program was as follows:

1. The Sixth Symphony
2. Aria: Ah! perfido, Op. 65
3. The Gloria movement of the Mass in C major
4. The Fourth Piano Concerto (played by Beethoven himself)
5. (Intermission)
6. The Fifth Symphony
7. The Sanctus and Benedictus movements of the C major Mass
8. A solo piano improvisation played by Beethoven
9. The Choral Fantasy

The Theater an der Wien as it appeared in the early 19th century

 

Beethoven dedicated the Fifth Symphony to two of his patrons, Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz and Count Razumovsky. The dedication appeared in the first printed edition of April 1809.

Reception and influence

There was little critical response to the premiere performance, which took place under adverse conditions. The orchestra did not play well—with only one rehearsal before the concert—and at one point, following a mistake by one of the performers in the Choral Fantasy, Beethoven had to stop the music and start again.^[11] The auditorium was extremely cold and the audience was exhausted by the length of the program. However, a year and a half later, publication of the score resulted in a rapturous unsigned review (actually by E. T. A. Hoffmann) in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. He described the music with dramatic imagery:

Radiant beams shoot through this region's deep night, and we become aware of gigantic shadows which, rocking back and forth, close in on us and destroy everything within us except the pain of endless longing—a longing in which every pleasure that rose up in jubilant tones sinks and succumbs, and only through this pain, which, while consuming but not destroying love, hope, and joy, tries to burst our breasts with full-voiced harmonies of all the passions, we live on and are captivated beholders of the spirits.^[12]

Apart from the extravagant praise, Hoffmann devoted by far the largest part of his review to a detailed analysis of the symphony, in order to show his readers the devices Beethoven used to arouse particular affects in the listener. In an essay titled "Beethoven's Instrumental Music", compiled from this 1810 review and another one from 1813 on the op. 70 string trios, published in three instalments in December 1813, E.T.A. Hoffmann further praised the "indescribably profound, magnificent symphony in C minor":

 

How this wonderful composition, in a climax that climbs on and on, leads the listener imperiously forward into the spirit world of the infinite!... No doubt the whole rushes like an ingenious rhapsody past many a man, but the soul of each thoughtful listener is assuredly stirred, deeply and intimately, by a feeling that is none other than that unutterable portentous longing, and until the final chord—indeed, even in the moments that follow it—he will be powerless to step out of that wondrous spirit realm where grief and joy embrace him in the form of sound....

 

The symphony soon acquired its status as a central item in the repertoire. It was played in the inaugural concerts of the New York Philharmonic on 7 December 1842, and the [US] National Symphony Orchestra on 2 November 1931. It was first recorded by the Odeon Orchestra under Friedrich Kark in 1910. The First Movement (as performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra) was featured on the Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record containing a broad sample of the images, common sounds, languages, and music of Earth, sent into outer space with the two Voyager probes.^[14] Groundbreaking in terms of both its technical and its emotional impact, the Fifth has had a large influence on composers and music critics,^[15] and inspired work by such composers as Brahms, Tchaikovsky (his 4th Symphony in particular),^[16] Bruckner, Mahler, and Berlioz.

 

 

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for piccolo (fourth movement only), two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B♭ and C, two bassoons, contrabassoon or double bassoon (fourth movement only), two horns in E♭ and C, two trumpets, three trombones (alto, tenor, and bass, fourth movement only), timpani (in G-C) and strings.

Form

A typical performance usually lasts around 30–40 minutes. The work is in four movements:

 

1악장: 알레그로 콘 브리오

C단조, 2/4박자. 첫 악장은 이른바 ‘운명의 동기’가 갑작스럽게 포르티시모로 터져 나오며 시작된다. ‘세 개의 짧은 음표와 한 개의 긴 음표’로 이루어진 이 유명한 동기는 처음에 현악기들과 클라리넷에서 음높이를 달리하여 두 번에 걸쳐 나오는데, 그 마지막의 붙임줄과 페르마타까지를 아우르는 다섯째 마디까지가 이 악장의 제1주제이다. 이후 ‘운명의 동기’는 열띤 흐름 속에서 꾸준히 반복⋅변형⋅확장되면서 곡 전체를 지배하게 된다. 호른 신호와 함께 시작되는 제2주제는 제1바이올린에서 부드럽게 흘러나오는데, 리듬적인 속성이 강조된 제1주제와는 달리 다분히 선율적이다.

이 악장의 전반적인 분위기는 ‘투쟁적인 열기’로 요약될 수 있겠지만, 사실 이 긴박한 드라마에는 꽤나 다양한 장면들이 밀집되어 있다. 즉 투쟁의 강렬함 외에도(그 투쟁의 주인공으로 상정될 수 있는) 영웅의 늠름함과 유연함, 그리고 다소 때 이른 환희의 쾌활함까지도 자리하고 있는 것이다. 하지만 시간이 지나면서 모든 것은 '운명의 동기'의 가공할 마력 속으로 휘말려 들어가며, 결국 비극적인 파국과 패배 속에서 막을 내리는 것처럼 보인다.

[The first movement opens with the four-note motif discussed above, one of the most famous in

Western music. There is considerable debate among conductors as to the manner of playing the four opening bars. Some conductors take it in strict allegro tempo; others take the liberty of a weighty treatment, playing the motif in a much slower and more stately tempo; yet others take the motif molto ritardando (a pronounced slowing through each four-note phrase), arguing that the fermata over the fourth note justifies this.^[18] Some critics and musicians consider it crucial to convey the spirit of [pause]and-two-and one, as written, and consider the more common one-two-three-four to be misleading.^[19] To wit:

 

About the "ta-ta-ta-Taaa": Beethoven begins with eight notes. They rhyme, four plus four, and each group of four consists of three quick notes plus one that is lower and much longer (in fact unmeasured). The space between the two rhyming groups is minimal, about one-seventh of a second if we go by Beethoven's metronome mark; moreover, Beethoven clarifies the shape by lengthening the second of the long notes. This lengthening, which was an afterthought, is tantamount to writing a stronger punctuation mark. As the music progresses, we can hear in the melody of the second theme, for example (or later, in the pairs of antiphonal chords of woodwinds and strings), that the constantly invoked connection between the two four-note units is crucial to the movement. ... The source of Beethoven's unparalleled energy here is in his writing long sentences and broad paragraphs whose surfaces are articulated with exciting activity. Indeed, we discover soon enough that the double "ta-ta-ta-Taaa" is an open-ended beginning, not a closed and self-sufficient unit (Misunderstanding of this opening was nurtured by a nineteenth-century performance tradition in which the first five measures were read as a slow, portentous exordium, the main tempo being attacked only after the second hold.) What makes this opening so dramatic is the violence of the contrast between the urgency in the eighth notes and the ominous freezing of motion in the unmeasured long notes. The music starts with a wild outburst of energy but immediately crashes into a wall. Seconds later, Beethoven jolts us with another such sudden halt. The music draws up to a half-cadence on a G-major chord, short and crisp in the whole orchestra, except for the first violins, who hang on to their high C for an unmeasured length of time. Forward motion resumes with a relentless pounding of eighth notes.^[20]

The first movement is in the traditional sonata form that Beethoven inherited from his classical predecessors, Haydn and Mozart (in which the main ideas that are introduced in the first few pages undergo elaborate development through many keys, with a dramatic return to the opening section—the recapitulation—about three-quarters of the way through). It starts out with two dramatic fortissimo phrases, the famous motif, commanding the listener's attention. Following the first four bars, Beethoven uses imitations and sequences to expand the theme, these pithy imitations tumbling over each other with such rhythmic regularity that they appear to form a single, flowing melody. Shortly after, a very short fortissimo bridge, played by the horns, takes place before a second theme is introduced. This second theme is in E♭ major, the relative major, and it is more lyrical, written piano and featuring the four-note motif in the string accompaniment. The codetta is again based on the four-note motif. The development section follows, including the bridge. During the recapitulation, there is a brief solo passage for oboe in quasi-improvisatory style, and the movement ends with a massive coda.]

 

 

2악장: 안단테 콘 모토

A플랫장조, 3/8박자. 격렬한 전장에서 한 발짝 물러나 있는 듯한 이 느린악장은 두 개의 주제에 기초한 변주곡 형식을 취하고 있다. 첼로와 비올라로 제시되는 제1주제는 느긋하고도 리드미컬하게 흐르며, 클라리넷과 파곳으로 제시되는 제2주제는 우아한 춤 또는 행진의 느낌을 자아낸다. 이후 이 주제들은 때로는 장대하거나 당당하게, 때로는 유려하거나 소박하게 모습을 바꾸면서 다채롭게 변주되어 나간다. 그리고 그 흐름 속에서 우리는 휴식과 위안, 사색과 명상 등 실로 다양한 감정과 이미지들을 경험하게 된다.

[The second movement, in A♭ major, the subdominant key of C minor's relative key (E-flat major), is a lyrical work in double variation form, which means that two themes are presented and varied in alternation. Following the variations there is a long coda.

The movement opens with an announcement of its theme, a melody in unison by violas and cellos, with accompaniment by the double basses. A second theme soon follows, with a harmony provided by clarinets, bassoons, and violins, with a triplet arpeggio in the violas and bass. A variation of the first theme reasserts itself. This is followed up by a third theme, thirty-second notes in the violas

and cellos with a counterphrase running in the flute, oboe, and bassoon. Following an interlude, the whole orchestra participates in a fortissimo, leading to a series of crescendos and a coda to close

the movement]

 

 

3악장: 알레그로

C단조, 3/4박자. 다시 전장으로 복귀한 듯한 스케르초 악장이다. 저현부에서 음산하게 솟아오르는 주제로 시작되고, 이어서 트럼펫이 ‘운명의 동기’의 변형을 장렬하게 연주하며 다시금 투쟁의 분위기를 곧추세운다. 중간의 트리오로 들어가면 급속하고 일사불란하게 움직이는 첼로와 베이스에서 출발하여 점차 밝아지는 푸가토가 등장하는데, 베를리오즈는 이 부분을 ‘코끼리 춤’이라고 부른 바 있다. 이후 다시 처음의 주제가 나오는데, 이번에는 어딘지 기묘한 풍자 또는 해학의 기운을 띠고 있다.

혹자는 이 스케르초가 마무리되고 다음 악장으로 넘어가기 전에 나오는 조용한 이행부가 이 교향곡의 진정한 절정이라고 말하기도 한다. 긴장감과 신비감을 함께 머금은 이 이행부는 실로 경이로운 것이어서, 베를리오즈는 그 뒤에 이어지는 부분에서 그 수준을 능가하기가 불가능할 것이라고 지적했고, 같은 맥락에서 슈포어는 마지막 악장을 ‘무의미한 바벨탑’이라고 생각하기도 했다.

 

[The third movement is in ternary form, consisting of a scherzo and trio. It follows the traditional mold of Classical-era symphonic third movements, containing in sequence the main scherzo, a contrasting trio section, a return of the scherzo, and a coda. However, while the usual Classical symphonies employed a minuet and trio as their third movement, Beethoven chose to use the newer scherzo and trio form.

The movement returns to the opening key of C minor and begins with the following theme, played by the cellos and double basses: ( listen (help·info))

The opening theme is answered by a contrasting theme played by the winds, and this sequence is repeated. Then the horns loudly announce the main theme of the movement, and the music proceeds from there.

The trio section is in C major and is written in a contrapuntal texture. When the scherzo returns for the final time, it is performed by the strings pizzicato and very quietly.

"The scherzo offers contrasts that are somewhat similar to those of the slow movement in that they derive from extreme difference in character between scherzo and trio ... The Scherzo then contrasts this figure with the famous 'motto' (3 + 1) from the first movement, which gradually takes command of the whole movement."^[22]

 

The third movement is also notable for its transition to the fourth movement, widely considered one of the greatest musical transitions of all time]

 

4악장: 알레그로

C장조, 4/4박자. 그럼에도 불구하고 눈부신 팡파르와 함께 시작되는 피날레 악장은 우리에게 언제나 벅찬 감흥을 안겨준다. 음악이 찬란한 C장조로 전환된 가운데 먼저 금관이 이끄는 투티로 ‘승리의 노래’라고 할 수 있는 제1주제가 힘차게 부각되고, 바이올린에서 흘러나오는 제2주제는 마치 흥겨운 춤을 추듯 쾌활하게 펼쳐진다. 영웅은 다시금 투쟁에 임하지만 이번에는 승리에 대한 확신에 차 있고, 발전부 말미에서는 앞선 악장의 기묘한 주제가 잠시 모습을 드러내지만 이내 사라진다. 재현부 이후는 마침내 승리를 쟁취한 영웅의 개선행진곡이자 환희의 노래라고 할 수 있다.

The fourth movement begins without pause from the transition. The music resounds in C major, an unusual choice by the composer as a symphony that begins in C minor is expected to finish in that key.^[24] In Beethoven’s words:

Many assert that every minor piece must end in the minor. Nego! ...Joy follows sorrow, sunshine—rain.^[25]

 

The triumphant and exhilarating finale is written in an unusual variant of sonata form: at the end of the development section, the music halts on a dominant cadence, played fortissimo, and the music continues after a pause with a quiet reprise of the "horn theme" of the scherzo movement. The recapitulation is then introduced by a crescendo coming out of the last bars of the interpolated scherzo section, just as the same music was introduced at the opening of the movement. The interruption of the finale with material from the third "dance" movement was pioneered by Haydn, who had done the same in his Symphony No. 46 in B, from 1772. It is unknown whether Beethoven was familiar with this work or not.

 

The Fifth Symphony finale includes a very long coda, in which the main themes of the movement are played in temporally compressed form. Towards the end the tempo is increased to presto. The symphony ends with 29 bars of C major chords, played fortissimo. In The Classical Style, Charles Rosen suggests that this ending reflects Beethoven's sense of Classical proportions: the "unbelievably long" pure C major cadence is needed "to ground the extreme tension of [this] immense work."^[26]

It was shown recently that this long chord sequence was a pattern that Beethoven borrowed from the Italian composer Luigi Cherubini, whom Beethoven “esteemed the most” among his contemporary musicians. Spending much of his life in France, Cherubini employed this pattern consistently to close his overtures, which Beethoven knew well. The ending of his famous symphony repeats almost note by note and pause by pause the conclusion of Cherubini’s overture to his opera Eliza, composed in 1794 and presented in Vienna in 1803.

 

끝으로, 이 초월적인 걸작이 우리에게 시사하는 바는 무엇일까? 언젠가 베토벤은 “보다 아름다운 것을 위해서라면 파괴하지 못할 규칙이란 없다.”라는 말을 남긴 바 있다. 낭만주의 시대에 가장 영향력 있는 슬로건으로 통용되기도 했던 이 발언은, 그러나 과도한 일탈이나 방종을 의미하지 않는다. 베토벤의 파괴는 고리타분하고 정체된 낡은 질서를 허물고 보다 참신하고 역동적인 새 질서를 창출하기 위한 것이었다. 낭만적인 동시에 고전적이고, 고전적인 동시에 낭만적인 ‘운명 교향곡’은 그에 관한 가장 뜨겁고 힘찬 웅변이라 하겠다.

 

 

Influences

The 19th century musicologist Gustav Nottebohm first pointed out that the third movement's theme has the same sequence of intervals as the opening theme of the final movement of Mozart's famous Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550. Here is Mozart's theme: ( listen (help·info))

While such resemblances sometimes occur by accident, this is unlikely to be so in the present case. Nottebohm discovered the resemblance when he examined a sketchbook used by Beethoven in composing the Fifth Symphony: here, 29 measures of Mozart's finale appear, copied out by Beethoven

Lore[지식,교훈]

Much has been written about the Fifth Symphony in books, scholarly articles, and program notes for live and recorded performances. This section summarizes some themes that commonly appear in this material.

Fate motif

The initial motif of the symphony has sometimes been credited with symbolic significance as a representation of Fate knocking at the door. This idea comes from Beethoven's secretary and factotum Anton Schindler, who wrote, many years after Beethoven's death:

The composer himself provided the key to these depths when one day, in this author's presence,

he pointed to the beginning of the first movement and expressed in these words the fundamental idea of his work: "Thus Fate knocks at the door!"^[29]

Schindler's testimony concerning any point of Beethoven's life is disparaged by experts (he is believed to have forged entries in Beethoven's conversation books).^[30] Moreover, it is often commented that Schindler offered a highly romanticized view of the composer.

 

There is another tale concerning the same motif; the version given here is from Antony Hopkins' description of the symphony.^[7] Carl Czerny (Beethoven's pupil, who premiered the "Emperor" Concerto in Vienna) claimed that "the little pattern of notes had come to [Beethoven] from a yellow-hammer's song, heard as he walked in the Prater-park in Vienna." Hopkins further remarks that "given the choice between a yellow-hammer and Fate-at-the-door, the public has preferred the more dramatic myth, though Czerny's account is too unlikely to have been invented."

 

In his Omnibus television lecture series in 1954, Leonard Bernstein has likened the Fate Motif to the four note coda common to classical symphonies. These notes would terminate the classical symphony as a musical coda, but for Beethoven they become a motif repeating throughout the work for a very different and dramatic effect, he says.^[31]

 

Evaluations of these interpretations tend to be skeptical. "The popular legend that Beethoven intended this grand exordium of the symphony to suggest 'Fate Knocking at the gate' is apocryphal; Beethoven's pupil, Ferdinand Ries, was really author of this would-be poetic exegesis, which Beethoven received very sarcastically when Ries imparted it to him."^[18] Elizabeth Schwarm Glesner remarks that "Beethoven had been known to say nearly anything to relieve himself of questioning pests"; this might be taken to impugn both tales.^[32]

Beethoven's choice of

The key of the Fifth Symphony, C minor, is commonly regarded as a special key for Beethoven, specifically a "stormy, heroic tonality".^[33] Beethoven wrote a number of works in C minor whose character is broadly similar to that of the Fifth Symphony. Writer Charles Rosen says,

Beethoven in C minor has come to symbolize his artistic character. In every case, it reveals Beethoven as Hero. C minor does not show Beethoven at his most subtle, but it does give him to us in his most extroverted form, where he seems to be most impatient of any compromise.^[34]

Repetition of the opening motif throughout the symphony

It is commonly asserted that the opening four-note rhythmic motif (short-short-short-long; see above) is repeated throughout the symphony, unifying it. "It is a rhythmic pattern (dit-dit-dit-dot*) that makes its appearance in each of the other three movements and thus contributes to the overall unity of the symphony" (Doug Briscoe^[35]); "a single motif that unifies the entire work" (Peter Gutmann^[36]); "the key motif of the entire symphony";^[37] "the rhythm of the famous opening figure ... recurs at crucial points in later movements" (Richard Bratby^[38]). The New Grove encyclopedia cautiously endorses this view, reporting that "[t]he famous opening motif is to be heard in almost every bar of the first movement—and, allowing for modifications, in the other movements."^[39]

There are several passages in the symphony that have led to this view. For instance, in the third movement the horns play the following solo in which the short-short-short-long pattern occurs repeatedly:

In the second movement (at measure 76), an accompanying line plays a similar rhythm ( listen (help·info)):

In the finale, Doug Briscoe (cited above) suggests that the motif may be heard in the piccolo part, presumably meaning the following passage ( listen (help·info)):

Later, in the coda of the finale, the bass instruments repeatedly play the following ( listen (help·info)):

On the other hand, some commentators are unimpressed with these resemblances and consider them to be accidental. Antony Hopkins,^[7] discussing the theme in the scherzo, says "no musician with an ounce of feeling could confuse [the two rhythms]", explaining that the scherzo rhythm begins on a strong musical beat whereas the first-movement theme begins on a weak one. Donald Francis Tovey^[40] pours scorn on the idea that a rhythmic motif unifies the symphony: "This profound discovery was supposed to reveal an unsuspected unity in the work, but it does not seem to have been carried far enough." Applied consistently, he continues, the same approach would lead to the conclusion that many other works by Beethoven are also "unified" with this symphony, as the motif appears in the "Appassionata" piano sonata, the Fourth Piano Concerto ( listen (help·info)), and in the String Quartet, Op. 74. Tovey concludes, "the simple truth is that Beethoven could not do without just such purely rhythmic figures at this stage of his art."

 

To Tovey's objection can be added the prominence of the short-short-short-long rhythmic figure in earlier works by Beethoven's older Classical contemporaries Haydn and Mozart. To give just two examples, it is found in Haydn's "Miracle" Symphony, No. 96) ( listen (help·info)) and in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25, K. 503 ( listen (help·info)). Such examples show that "short-short-short-long" rhythms were a regular part of the musical language of the composers of Beethoven's day.

It seems likely that whether or not Beethoven deliberately, or unconsciously, wove a single rhythmic motif through the Fifth Symphony will (in Hopkins's words) "remain eternally open to debate."^[7]

Use of La Fol

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Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Movement 2, La Folia Variation (measures 166–176)

 

Folia is a dance form with a distinctive rhythm and harmony, which was used by many composers

from the Renaissance well into the 19th and even 20th century, often in the context of a theme and variations.^[41] It was used by Beethoven in his Fifth Symphony in the harmony midway through the slow movement (bar 166–177).^[42] Although some recent sources mention that the fragment of the Folia theme in Beethoven's symphony was detected only in the 90s of the last century, Reed J. Hoyt analyzed some Folia-aspects in the oeuvre of Beethoven already in 1982 in his "Letter to the Editor", in the journal College Music Symposium 21, where he draws attention to the existence of complex archetypal patterns and their relationship.^[43]

Trombones and piccolos

While it is commonly stated that the last movement of Beethoven's Fifth is the first time the trombone and the piccolo were used in a concert symphony, it is not true. The Swedish composer Joachim Nicolas Eggert specified trombones for his Symphony in E♭ major written in 1807,^[44] and examples of earlier symphonies with a part for piccolo abound, including Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 19 in C major, composed in August 1773.

Textual questions

Third movement repeat

In the autograph score (that is, the original version from Beethoven's hand), the third movement contains a repeat mark: when the scherzo and trio sections have both been played through, the performers are directed to return to the very beginning and play these two sections again. Then comes a third rendering of the scherzo, this time notated differently for pizzicato strings and transitioning directly to the finale (see description above). Most modern printed editions of the score do not render this repeat mark; and indeed most performances of the symphony render the movement as ABA' (where A = scherzo, B = trio, and A' = modified scherzo), in contrast to the ABABA' of the autograph score.

 

The repeat mark in the autograph is unlikely to be simply an error on the composer's part. The ABABA' scheme for scherzi appears elsewhere in Beethoven, in the Bagatelle for solo piano, Op. 33, No. 7 (1802), and in the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Symphonies. However, it is possible that for the Fifth Symphony, Beethoven originally preferred ABABA', but changed his mind in the course of publication in favor of ABA'.

 

Since Beethoven's day, published editions of the symphony have always printed ABA'. However, in 1978 an edition specifying ABABA' was prepared by Peter Gülke and published by Peters. In 1999, yet another edition by Jonathan Del Mar was published by Bärenreiter^[45][46] which advocates a return to ABA'. In the accompanying book of commentary,^[47] Del Mar defends in depth the view that ABA' represents Beethoven's final intention; in other words, that conventional wisdom was right all along.

 

In concert performances, ABA' prevailed until fairly recent times. However, since the appearance of the Gülke edition conductors have felt more free to exercise their own choice. The conductor Caroline Brown, in notes to her recorded ABABA' performance with the Hanover Band (Nimbus Records, #5007), writes:

Re-establishing the repeat certainly alters the structural emphasis normally apparent in this Symphony. It makes the scherzo less of a transitional make-weight, and, by allowing the listener more time to become involved with the main thematic motif of the scherzo, the side-ways step into the bridge passage leading to the finale seems all the more unexpected and extraordinary in its intensity.

 

Performances with ABABA' seem to be particularly favored by conductors who specialize in authentic performance (that is, using instruments of the kind employed in Beethoven's day). These include Brown, as well as Christopher Hogwood, John Eliot Gardiner, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. ABABA' performances on modern instruments have also been recorded by the New Philharmonia Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich under David Zinman, and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado.

Reassigning bassoon notes to the horns

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In the first movement, the passage that introduces the second subject of the exposition is assigned by Beethoven as a solo to the pair of horns.

At this location, the theme is played in the key of E♭ major. When the same theme is repeated later on in the recapitulation section, it is given in the key of C major. Antony Hopkins wrote,^[7] "this ... presented a problem to Beethoven, for the horns [of his day], severely limited in the notes they could actually play before the invention of valves, were unable to play the phrase in the 'new' key of C major—at least not without stopping the bell with the hand and thus muffling the tone.

 

Beethoven therefore had to give the theme to a pair of bassoons, who, high in their compass, were bound to seem a less than adequate substitute. In modern performances the heroic implications of the original thought are regarded as more worthy of preservation than the secondary matter of scoring; the phrase is invariably played by horns, to whose mechanical abilities it can now safely be trusted."

 

In fact, even before Hopkins wrote this passage (1981), some conductors had experimented with preserving Beethoven's original scoring for bassoons. This can be heard on many performances including those conducted by Caroline Brown mentioned in the preceding section as well as in a recent recording by Simon Rattle with the Vienna Philharmonic. Although horns capable of playing the passage in C major were developed not long after the premiere of the Fifth Symphony (according to this source, 1814), it is not known whether Beethoven would have wanted to substitute modern horns, or keep the bassoons, in the crucial passage.

 

There are strong arguments in favor of keeping the original scoring even when modern valve horns are available. The structure of the movement posits a programatic alteration of light and darkness, represented by major and minor. Within this framework, the topically heroic transitional theme dispels the darkness of the minor first theme group and ushers in the major second theme group. However, in the development section, Beethoven systematically fragments and dismembers this heroic theme in bars 180–210.

 

Thus he may have rescored its return in the recapitulation for a weaker sound to foreshadow the essential expositional closure in minor. Moreover, the horns used in the fourth movement are natural horns in C, which can easily play this passage. If Beethoven had wanted the second theme in the horns, he could have had the horns resting for the previous bars to give them time to switch instruments, and then written "muta in c," similar to his "muta in f" instruction in measure 412 of the first movement of Symphony No. 3.

Editions

• The edition by Jonathan Del Mar mentioned above was published as follows: Ludwig van Beethoven. Symphonies 1–9. Urtext. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1996–2000, ISMN M-006-50054-3.
• An inexpensive version of the score has been issued by Dover Publications. This is a 1989 reprint of an old edition (Braunschweig: Henry Litolff, no date). Reference:^[48]

Adaptation

The Fifth has been adapted many times to other genres. Examples include:

• Arranged for piano solo by Franz Liszt
• Electric Light Orchestra's version of "Roll Over Beethoven" incorporates the motif and elements from the first movement into a classic rock and roll song by Chuck Berry^{[citation needed]}
• Japanese band Takeshi Terauchi & Bunnys, recorded an instrumental rock cover of this song on their 1967 album Let's Go Unmei. ("Unmei" means "Fate"/"Destiny" in Japanese, and is a nickname for Symphony No. 5 in Japan)
  • A similar "Unmei" reference shows up in Japanese live action series "Kamen Rider Ghost". The titular character's Beethoven Soul form, when activated, causes his transformation device to chant "Kyokumei! Unmei! Jajajajan~" (Melody! Destiny! Jajajajan~), with the "Jajajajan~" part being the 4 beginning notes of Symphony No. 5.
• Walter Murphy adapted the first movement under the title "A Fifth of Beethoven" as a disco instrumental in 1976. It was featured in the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever.
• The 1981 single "Hooked on Classics" from the album of the same name, by Louis Clark and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, includes a portion of the Fifth.
• Fantasia 2000 features a shortened version of the first movement as its first segment.
• Wolfgang's 5th Symphony by Wolfgang Gartner, an Electro House adaptation.^[49]
• An adaptation appears as the theme song for the TV show Judge Judy.^[50]

 

추천음반

1. 카를로스 클라이버(지휘)/빈 필하모닉 오케스트라. DG

2. 헤르베르트 폰 카라얀(지휘)/베를린 필하모닉 오케스트라. DG

3. 존 엘리어트 가디너(지휘)/혁명과 낭만의 오케스트라. SDG *시대악기 연주

4. 파보 예르비(지휘)/브레멘 도이치 캄머필하모니. RCA or Sony/DVD *절충식 연주

5. 마리스 얀손스(지휘)/바이에른 방송교향악단. Arthaus/DVD *영상물

6. 빌헬름 푸르트벵글러(지휘)/베를린 필하모닉 오케스트라. DG, Audite 외 *모노 녹음

 

글 황장원(음악 칼럼니스트) 클래식 음악 감상실 ‘무지크바움’ 실장과 한국바그너협회 사무간사를 역임하였다. 무지크바움, 부천필 아카데미, 성남아트센터, 풍월당에서 클래식음악 교양강좌를 맡고 있다. <객석>, <스테레오뮤직>, <그라모폰>, <라무지카> 등에 칼럼을 기고했고 현재 서울시향 프로그램 노트를 담당하고 있다.

 

  출처 : 네이버캐스트 오늘의 클래식>명곡 명연주 2013.12.06

  http://navercast.naver.com/contents.nhn?rid=66&contents_id=42836

 

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