Beethoven's Fifth Symphony introduced by John Eliot Gardiner

[Seán]

You don’t get anything more iconic than this symphony, especially its opening bars; and I don’t need to elaborate on all the different interpretations assigned to those bars, whether it’s ‘Fate knocking on the door’ or the ‘V for Victory’ Morse Code signal in the Second World War. I’m not sure how helpful any of that is. What does help, however, is to know a little bit about the political views and sympathies of Beethoven at the time of its composition. He went through various permutations of left-wingery and right-wingery, but at this point in his life he was really under the spell of the French Revolution, which appealed to his imagination and his sense of frustration. He was born in Bonn but now he lived in ultra-conservative Vienna, where any political message had to be encrypted. He was a great admirer of Luigi Cherubini, a composer of Italian origin who lived in France; and the famous theme that opens this symphony is derived from Cherubini’s revolutionary Hymne du Panthéon of 1794. Its rhythms and even the melodic outline, to some extent, lurk in the background of this symphony. Chenier’s words for that piece were overtly revolutionary – ‘We swear, sword in hand, to die for the Republic and for the rights of man’ – and it was a heck of a thing for a German composer to encode, in a symphony without words. If this had come out into the open in a city as incredibly reactionary as Vienna, he would have been incarcerated, there’s no doubt about it.

The extraordinary thing is what he does with that theme, because it’s so unbelievably brief. It also starts on a cushion of a quaver rest, not on a downbeat. As a conductor, the challenge is to make sure that those three notes – the repeated notes – sound off the beat, so there’s quite a technique involved in establishing the motto of the entire symphony. The theme is all-embracing and Beethoven uses it in extraordinarily concise and compact ways. I think it helps to know the words of the original Cherubini Hymne, where the second notes carry all the emphasis. I try to get the musicians to express that with their bows and their embouchures. There is an inexorable drive to this movement, an élan terrible, a propulsive energy akin
to a call to battle.

The second movement is so unbelievably gentle and trouble-free in comparison. It has a delicious lilt to it in the melody that begins in the violas and cellos – a lissom, fragile quality which is so beautiful. It’s tricky to pull off, because you have these dotted rhythms which still have to register to the ear of the listener even though they are legato. So you need a vertical energy that bounces the rhythms away from the horizontal, combined with the legato flow of the horizontal. This movement is the perfect riposte to those who think Beethoven is all just blood and thunder. Then the movement explodes into something majestic and almost militaristic in the brass – with a rousing energy. The series of variations that follows is very rich in fantasy and sheer accomplishment in the compositional process. Then a darkness falls, as the cellos provide an echo of the first movement, and then there’s that marvellous moment when he speeds up. The più molto section near the end feels almost like a creature of some sort that is suddenly uncaged and allowed into the open air.

The third movement has no marking. It’s sui generis. Beethoven here is claiming the right to be original, to be eccentric, to break away from the rules: this is a long way away from a Haydn minuet, for example. The opening is just a preparation for this tremendously assertive triple rhythm, which starts in the horns. Then he does something really brilliant. He writes a sort of a romp as a trio section, starting in the bass-line, almost throwing the gauntlet down. It feels so rhetorical, you sense there must be a text behind it. This theme feels not abstract but ‘word-generated’, but I have never been able to find a source for it. When he returns to the principal theme after the trio, there is a squeaky-door type of sonority in the strings and the clarinet has the main theme. It’s frog-like in its witty, strange, eerie way; and serves as a preparation for one of the most astonishing passages in the whole of Beethoven.

The transition into the finale begins without a break, with an A-flat pedal and the timpani playing the median, not the tonic. It’s suppressed. The tension mounts inexorably. This is like a furnace burning up and always puts me in mind of the end of Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini. There is a triumphal shine and sonority – an éclat triumphal – as we go into C major. It’s one of the most exciting moments in the whole of symphonic literature. He brings in three trombones, the piccolo and the contrabassoon, so you have an association with Turkish military bands. It all feels Napoleonic in its fervour. Imperceptibly, there comes another political motto, a reference to Rouget de Lisle’s Hymne Dithyrambique, specifically the phrase ‘Chantons la liberté’. It emerges gradually in the bass-line, passing to the trombones and the bassoons, and then to the violins. Then the whole orchestra is singing a hymn to liberty. Of course, being Beethoven, he doesn’t stop there. He calls a halt to proceedings, goes back to the theme of the previous movement and does the whole thing again, this time with even more eruptive force, so you get a da capo that isn’t really a da capo. It’s epic; it’s rousing; and it’s awe-inspiring in the best sense of the term.

[fergus]

This is a very direct and assertive performance and yet polished and refined. The energy is electrifying. The quality of the playing is terrific. I am a huge admirer of Gardiner. This admiration is based not only on his interpretations and performances of some of my favourite music but also on his intellect and erudition that comes through in many of his writings and interviews. He does his research and he knows his music.

The symphony is introduced by what are probably the most recognised four bars of music in all of music of any genre. What is the universal appeal of this motif? Beethoven himself allegedly [according to Beethoven’s friend Anton Schindler] described the figure as “fate knocking at the door.” Apparently, however, Schindler was known for not letting facts get in the way of a good story. However, the “fate” motif, has remained popular. During World War II Allied forces used it to signal a victorious moment, as its rhythm—short, short, short, long—matched that of the letter V in Morse Code. It is not much of a melody really, is it? But, when played at ff by virtually a full orchestra, what it is is simple and dramatic; Beethoven demanding and getting your attention!
I remember reading that Symphony No. 5 was Beethoven’s only symphony that was meant to be listened to as an organic whole. Part of Beethoven’s genius is what he did with ideas. That opening motif in the first movement permeates the entire work in different guises and forms thereby unifying the entire work. Early musical ideas are recapitulated in the final movement and each movement flows seamlessly into the next.

In the first movement that famous motif takes on many shapes and forms as it makes its way around each section of the orchestra. Amazingly the entire movement is virtually based on that simple motif; a tribute to the genius and ingenuity of the composer! Even the horns, when introducing the second theme, uses the fate motif as the fanfare and even this lyrical second theme is accompanied by the violas, cellos and bases using the same motif. There is a great built up of tension and intensity towards the climax of the coda.

The second movement is a much more lyrical one and is in a theme and variation form with two contrasting themes, one serene and the other one more forceful. The fate motif has a reincarnation in the second theme here. This constant contrast creates an interesting tension in somewhat serene atmosphere but that is all part of the master plan for this work as a whole.

The third movement, Scherzo, begins with a short introduction on the lower strings but the fate motif very quickly makes its presence felt with the horns and the motif is extensively used once again throughout the movement. The Trio section is in fact a busy fugue which apparently features some very difficult string writing which apparently confounded early performers.
Of particular note and importance is the transition section at the conclusion of this movement where Beethoven runs into the final movement without pause. This transition is wonderfully done; the dynamic drops to pianissimo, the same note is repeated on the timpani creating great tension and the music finally surges into a ff crescendo moving directly into the final movement. This is a wonderful few moments of symphonic writing.

The final movement is one of my favourite pieces of classical music. It is, and should be performed that way, bombastic with great forward drive. It has a militaristic, victorious feel to it where optimism finally conquers all. I just love the joyful excitement of this music.
The fate motif makes its inevitable introduction in the second theme to be used again throughout the movement. There is tremendous forward momentum in this movement that ultimately concludes in a highly energised fashion which increases in tempo and volume and becomes ever more assertive. One is left feeling positively envigorated after this performance; a wonderful, amazing musical statement!

[Seán]

That is a splendid post Fergus, thank you, it is a great read and covers much of what I feel about this wonderful work too but wasn't able to express it with such eloquence.
As you say the Fourth movement is really special: if the first starts with fate banging on the door then the sheer exuberance of the start of the fourth movement appears to herald a victorious triumph. On hearing this performed by Gardiner's Orchestra one feels like standing to attention andcan't help but smile through out the introduction.

[fergus]

That is a splendid post Fergus, thank you, it is a great read and covers much of what I feel about this wonderful work too but wasn't able to express it with such eloquence.
As you say the Fourth movement is really special: if the first starts with fate banging on the door then the sheer exuberance of the start of the fourth movement appears to herald a victorious triumph. On hearing this performed by Gardiner's Orchestra one feels like standing to attention andcan't help but smile through out the introduction.

Thank you Seán. It is a marvellous work and I think a seminal one where Beethoven truely came into his own; where everything came together technically and emotionally.