Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor was written in 1804-1808. In the catalog of Beethoven's works it is Opus 67. The symphony is one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of classical music, and is

Reception and influence

There was little critical response of any sort to the premiere performance, which took place under very adverse conditions. The orchestra did not play well (they had only one rehearsal before the concert), and at one point in the Choral Fantasy Beethoven had to stop the music and begin again. In addition, the auditorium was extremely cold, and the audience was exhausted by the length of the program.

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However, a year and a half later another performance resulted in a rapturous review by E.T.A. Hoffmann in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. He described the music by writing:

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:"Radiant beams shoot through the deep night of this region, and we become aware of gigantic shadows which, rocking back and forth, close in on us and destroy all within us except the pain of endless longing -- a longing in which every pleasure that rose up amid jubilant tones sinks and succumbs. Only through this pain, which, while consuming but not destroying love, hope, and joy, tries to burst our breasts with a full-voiced general cry from all the passions, do we live on and are captivated beholders of the spirits."

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The symphony soon acquired its status as a central item in the repertoire. As a kind of emblem of the classical music enterprise, it was played in the concerts that inaugurated the New York Philharmonic on December 7, 1842, and the National Symphony Orchestra on November 2, 1931.

Related Topics:
New York Philharmonic - 1842 - National Symphony Orchestra - 1931

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Groundbreaking technically and emotionally, the Fifth Symphony has had a large influence on composers and music critics, and inspired work by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler, and others. The symphony stands with the Third Symphony and Ninth Symphony as the most revolutionary of Beethoven's symphonies, and indeed, all his compositions.

Related Topics:
Brahms - Tchaikovsky - Bruckner - Mahler - Third Symphony - Ninth Symphony

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