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and beefier than the first movement. To bulk up his orchestra, Beethoven adds three trombones, a contrabassoon (low bassoon), and a piccolo (high flute), the first time any of these instruments had been called for in a symphony. He also writes big, bold, and, in most cases, triadic themes, assigning these most often to the powerful brasses. In these themes and instruments , we hear the “heroic” Beethoven at his best. The finale projects a feeling of affirmation, a sense that superhuman will has triumphed over adversity.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 reveals his genius in a paradox: from mini- mal material (the basic cell), he derives maximum sonority. Everywhere there is a feeling of raw, elemental power propelled by the newly enlarged orchestra. Beethoven was the first to recognize that massive sound could be a potent psy- chological weapon. Mood and emotions could be manipulated by sound alone. No wonder that during World War II (1939–1945) both sides, Fascist as well as Allied, used the music of this symphony to symbolize triumph—in Morse code, short-short-short-long is the letter “V,” as in “Victory.”
The Final Years (1814–1827)
By 1814, Beethoven had lost his hearing entirely and had withdrawn from society (Figure 10.5). His music, too, took on a more remote, inaccessible quality, placing heavy demands on performer and audience alike. In these late works, Beethoven requires the lis- tener to connect musical ideas over extended spans of time—to engage in long-term listening where the ties between melodies or rhythms are not immedi- ately obvious. Units of seemingly unrelated music are placed in close proximity. This music seems in- tended not for the audience of Beethoven’s day, but rather for future generations. Whether such “diffi- cult” late music was due to Beethoven’s internal ar- tistic vision or his total deafness—or both—we shall never know.
Most of Beethoven’s late works are piano sonatas
and string quartets—intimate, introspective cham-
ber music. But two pieces, the Mass in D major (Mis-
sa Solemnis, 1823) and the Symphony No. 9 (1824),
are large-scale compositions for full orchestra and chorus. In these latter works, Beethoven strives once again to communicate directly to a broad spectrum of humanity.
Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1824), Opus 125
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, his last, was the first symphony in the history of music to include a chorus. In the fourth and final movement he turned to choral
FiguRe 10.5
A generally accurate depiction of Beethoven’s last music room as drawn by J. N. Hoechle three days after the composer’s death. In truth, this room contained two grand pianos. Note the mess
still on the piano and the fact that the instrument is filled with broken strings.
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