Classical repertoire. For Beethoven, the symphony was a sublime genre, one that required special attention and dedication. Compared to Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven wrote a modest number of symphonies, especially when keeping in mind the number of his compositions in other genres: 35 piano sonatas, more than 16 string quartets and dozens of chamber works for piano with other instruments. The fact that Beethoven wrote his first symphony when he was already 30, by then a famous composer with many publications to his name, testifies to the respect he had for the genre. His innovations were many: in the Fifth Symphony he expanded the orchestral forces by adding piccolo, contrabassoon and three trombones – instruments that were unusual in this kind of repertoire; the coda, which until then was no more than a short appendix at the end of the movement, became a second development in Beethoven’s hands; the finale, traditionally a lighthearted, dance-like movement, was given a stature equal to that of the opening movement, if not higher; the contrasts that stand at the very core of the sonata form – between the first and second theme, between the primary key to secondary keys – became starker and stronger in the Fifth. One of these contrasts is the tension between major and minor, and subsequently a tradition had developed to interpret this symphony as a symbol of a struggle and a journey from darkness to light. The personal and political background to the composition of the symphony support such an interpretation: during the time he was writing it, Beethoven’s deafness worsened severely and he experienced disturbing tinnitus, stomach illnesses and a series of failed romantic affairs. Austria, and more so Vienna, was undergoing turbulent political times, following the spread of the French Revolution. Beethoven had mixed feelings about the revolution, and he expressed his doubts about Napoleon more than once. On the other hand, he maintained his support in the ideas that propelled the revolution – Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. The vigorous opening movement is cast in classical sonata form, with little deviations. The movement lays the foundations for the entire symphony – the opening motive reappears in all the movements, and the growing tension between C minor (darkness) and C major (light and liberation) occupies the recapitulation and coda, which serves as a second development. The second movement is a set of double variations, meaning variations on two themes, alternating as they are being worked out. The first theme, in A-flat major, is lyrical and is presented by the violas and cellos. It is followed by a second lyrical theme in the woodwinds. A short pianissimo passage is suddenly interrupted by the entire orchestra, with an outburst of the second theme, in a surprising harmonic shift to C major. As a secondary key, C major is an unusual choice for a movement in A-flat major, for in the classical tradition these keys are considered quite remote, but the choice is part of an overall plan of the symphony – the struggle for the liberation from the chains of C minor, contrasted with C major, which symbolizes liberty. The march-like character of the C major variant of the second theme evokes images of the revolution as well.
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