Page 35 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

first with a musical motive, a short, distinctive musical figure that can stand by itself. Indeed, his now-famous SSSL motive is the musical equivalent of a sucker punch. It comes out of nowhere and hits hard. Thereafter we regain our equilibrium, as Beethoven takes us on an emotionally wrenching, thirty-minute, four-movement symphonic journey dominated by this four-note motive.
listening Cue
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C minor (1808)
First movement, Allegro con brio (fast with gusto)
what to listen for: The ever-changing appearance of the four-note motive as the force of the music waxes
and wanes
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Finally, for the grandest of all sounds, popular or classical, we turn to the beginning of an orchestral work by Richard Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). The German title sounds intimidating, but the idea is very simple. Here Strauss attempts to re-create in music the power of the rising sun by using all the instruments of a huge symphony orchestra. So impressive is this passage that it has been borrowed for use in countless radio and TV commercials (to sell digital TV and phone delivery services, insurance, and storm windows, among other things) where the aim is to astound you, the consumer, with the power, durability, and brilliance of the product. In contrast to Beethoven’s composition, Strauss’s piece isn’t a symphony in four movements, but rather a one-movement work for orchestra called a tone poem (see Chapter 12). If you think classical music is for wimps, think again!
listening Cue
Richard Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra (1896) One-movement tone poem
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what to listen for: A gradual transition from the nothingness of murky darkness, to shafts of light (trumpets), and finally to the incandescent power of the full symphony orchestra
(continued)
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