# 203rd Anniversary of Beethoven's 5th Symphony's First Premier!



## BradPiano (Dec 22, 2011)

On this day in 1808, Beethoven's 5th symphony first premiered at a mammoth concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna consisting entirely of Beethoven premieres, and directed by Beethoven himself. The concert lasted for more than four hours.

What do you guys have to say about this unforgettable piece?


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

It has the best crescendo in history.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

It is a magnificent piece. Sadly, perhaps one of only a half dozen maybe that have become too overplayed for me. Nonetheless, I like seeing this played live by a great orchestra. Then, there is no escaping its sheer bliss and the beauty that Beethoven created for the symphony orchestra.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

I'd like to put in a good word for the *second movement*, often overlooked in the greater scheme of Beethoven slow movements, but it really is exquisite (and proves that he could write a decent melody on occasion). There's an interesting harmonic passage which serves as the transition from the brassy second theme back to the melodious opening theme, C major to Ab major; the brass chords die away, leaving the strings and bassoons who play a series of held chords, lasting one bar each. It never really goes where you expect it to; Beethoven racks up the tension, then slowly dissipates it rather than instantly relieving it. Very unusual.


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## EarthBoundRules (Sep 25, 2011)

I would have _died_ to go to that concert! The premiers of his 5th and 6th symphonies as well as the 4th piano concerto, sections of his Mass in C Minor being played, and an improvisation on piano by the master himself... that's the stuff dreams are made of. 

As for the symphony itself, it's genius. I've always loved the first two movements best, while the third movement is quite creepy and original, and the hilariously long coda of the 4th movement always cracks me up.


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## Eviticus (Dec 8, 2011)

Hail Beethoven! His crowning jewel in my opinion. In fact, i'd go as far to say the best opus in classical music.

I could not imagine the impact of such a symphony on an audience that had only heard the likes of Haydn and his contemporaries before... it must have been like discovering America! Wasn't this debuted with his 6th? If so, it must have been one of the most ground breaking concerts ever. If i could go back in time to one concert - this would be it!


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

EarthBoundRules said:


> the hilariously long coda of the 4th movement always cracks me up.


I'm not sure hilarious is what Beethoven was going for...


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## EarthBoundRules (Sep 25, 2011)

jalex said:


> I'm not sure hilarious is what Beethoven was going for...


Probably not, but it's still pretty funny to me. It almost seems like he's parodying his own over-the-top endings.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

Hmm. Think I'll stick with Charles Rosen's assertion 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." '

I somehow find it difficult to believe he would insert a joke at the end of _this_ symphony, of all pieces.


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## EarthBoundRules (Sep 25, 2011)

I don't think it was an intentional joke from Beethoven, but I can't help but find amusement in how I keep thinking it will end and then the music takes another side turn. It's the beauty of interpretation that lets us have two different opinions on the same piece of music without dismissing one or the other.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

It's a great piece and it is the piece that first got me into the sonata forms and stuff of classical music. However, I much prefer his late music. I enjoy profound Beethoven and humorous Beethoven a little more than melodramatic Beethoven.

I'd add that I don't think it is Beethoven's best piece of music by far, as many here seem to think.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Not my favourite work now, Beethoven's 5th, due to it's hackneyed nature. Not issues intrinsic to the work itself, really. It's "darkness to light" narrative has served as a template for many a symphony ever since, whether good or bad or in-between. I remember when I first heard it when young, I was fascinated by how he uses the oboe as a kind of dramatic highlight in the first movement, to kind of draw the motto theme out, in a way.

As for the other works in that concert, the 6th symphony was the first I got to know by him & kind of a nostalgic feel there. The 4th PC is probably my favourite of all his PC's, esp. how he does a quite amazing thing, opening it quietly and the piano coming in straight away, no mucking around with a lengthy introduction by the orchestra alone.

Some of these things go to show why he's one of my favourite composers, always has been, probably always will be. But in recent years, have been delving into his chamber music especially, a rewarding thing in itself & recently I got back to another "early love" of mine by him, his only opera_ Fidelio_...


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I've never listened to more than one recording of this work. I've had the Seiji Ozawa Telarc CD for 27 years. I play it about once every five years.


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

It commences Judge Judy quite well


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## DavidMahler (Dec 28, 2009)

oh and in my mind, though it's not my favorite, I consider it the most perfect accessible and perfect piece of orchestral music ever composed.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Still my second favourite Beethoven symphony after the 6th, overplayed or not.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

The second movement from Beethoven's fifth is the best. But don't forget that the _best_ piece premiered at that concert was his fourth piano concerto.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Enough has been said aboutthe fifth. A few things I wrote about it, and the Academy Concert of 22 December 1808:

http://www.talkclassical.com/blogs/itywltmt/428-day-music-history-november.html (The Bernstein lecture)
http://www.talkclassical.com/blogs/itywltmt/438-musikakademie-konzert-der-22.html (This week's blog on TC)
http://itywltmt.blogspot.com/2011/12/montage-36-this-day-in-music-history.html (This week's blog on ITYWLTMT)


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