# Beethoven's 5th Symphony



## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Judith said:


> Programme recently on BBC about this symphony and what was going on in his mind when he composed it. Some people thought it was to do with the French Revolution at the time, but I'm going with the theory of him being frustrated at going deaf, as the first few notes reflect. What does anyone else think? The whole symphony was shown performed by "Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique" using the original instruments of the time and was conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I think his advancing deafness is just part of the meaning. For me, the symphony is about change. Whether it's political change, changes in his personal circumstances and health. I don't go with the 'fate' motif. For me it's a frustrating symphony. It's not one of my favourite LvB symphonies (3,4,6-9 are preferred). I find it a rather idiosyncratic symphony. I still love it but not as much as the others and I think it's the 'change' you hear from movement to movement. It's tied together but only loosely for me.


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