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Essay / A report on Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 in C minor was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. He was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven is one of the most famous and influential composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his high mass Missa solemnis and an opera, Fidelio. He was born in Bonn. Beethoven showed his musical talents from an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by the composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21, he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. In his late twenties his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost completely deaf. In 1811, he gave up conducting and public performances but continued to compose. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe Fifth Symphony underwent a long development process, during which Beethoven worked out the musical ideas for the work. The first “sketches” date from 1804, following the completion of the Third Symphony. However, Beethoven repeatedly interrupted his work on the Fifth to prepare other compositions, including the first version of Fidelio, the Appassionata piano sonata, the three Razumovsky string quartets, the Violin Concerto, the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Fourth Symphony and the Mass in C. The final preparation of the Fifth Symphony, which took place in 1807-1808, was carried out in parallel with the Sixth Symphony, premiered at the same concert. Beethoven was in his thirties at this time. His personal life is disrupted by increasing deafness. Worldwide, the period was marked by the Napoleonic Wars, political unrest in Austria, and the occupation of Vienna by Napoleon's troops in 1805. The symphony was written in his accommodation at the Pasqualati House in Vienna. The final movement quotes a revolutionary song by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle. The Fifth Symphony was premiered on December 22, 1808 in a mammoth concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna composed entirely of Beethoven premieres and conducted by Beethoven himself on the conductor's podium. The concert lasted more than four hours. The two symphonies appeared on the program in reverse order, with the Sixth being played first and the Fifth appearing in the second part. Beethoven dedicated the Fifth Symphony to two of his patrons, Prince Franz Joseph of Lobkowitz and Count Razumovsky. The dedication appeared in the first printed edition of April 1809. The symphony consists of four movements. The first movement is Allegro con brio, this movement opens with the four note motif which is one of the most famous motifs in Western music. There is considerable debate among conductors as to how to play the opening four bars. The next movement is the second movement called Andante con moto. This movement is in A? major, the subdominant key of the relative key of C minor, is a lyrical work in double variation form, meaning that two themes are presented and varied alternately. After the variations there is a long coda. The third movement is a Scherzo Allegro, composed of a scherzo and a trio. It follows the traditional mold of symphonic third movements of the classical era, containing in sequence the main scherzo, a contrasting trio section, a return of the scherzo, and a coda. The fourth.