the main theme, leading to a dramatic passage in E-flat minor, which threatens to bring the entire movements down, but the recapitulation and the coda bring it triumphantly to a safe haven. The third movement, a driven and powerful scherzo, is an exception in Beethoven's symphonic scherzi. It lacks the relentless 3/4 pounding rhythm of a typical Beethoven scherzo. The sense of rhythm is blurred here in two ways: the theme opens with short motifs in 2/4 (within a frame of 3/4); later on, melodic lines with a quarter upbeat appear, but the upbeat does not sound like one as it forms an integral part of the melodic line. This technique was adopted by Brahms in many of his works, and indeed this scherzo sounds quite Brahmsian. The fourth movement is the most stormy and dramatic of the symphony. The bursting force of the first and third movements is further emphasized here. As in a delusional dream, the character of the music changes radically, from unrestrained excitement to moments of horror and fear, with accentuated diminished seventh chords. The roller coaster moves on ecstatically, coming to a halt only in the coda, with a somber and meaningful chord (ninth chord). Subsequently the sky brightens up in a joyful and decisive ending. Gilad Israeli
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