John Yang

November 4, 2014
1. Beethoven himself and the listener.
2a. and 2b.
Bass composition
Drama Between Tonic and Dominant
Fermatas/Pauses
Emphatic octaves descent into rehearsal C (measure 81)
Tension and release agitated rhythm, dynamic, and harmony resolve at
places such as the agitation around 117 that resolves at measure 126.
Sections that react to sections preceding them
Sonata Form exposition ends and development starts at measure 150,
recap at 398, and coda at 583
Enharmonic Ambiguity measure 7 (C# in key of B-flat)
Fifths progressions from B-flat at the start of the piece it goes to E-flat and
then to A-flat in measure 20
Unsettling initial thematic material measure 7 (C# that momentarily
unsettles the tonal center and foreshadows the harmonic unsettlement that
happens throughout the first movement.)
Relaxed recapitulation measure 398
Codas that act as recapitulations to not a section but an entire movement and
bring tonic confirmation/closure.
Monolithic treatment of harmony
Melodic effusion melody and accompaniment become equally important at
places such as measure 316
Nonregular periodic structures
Overall teleological motion
Motto rhythms measure 14 (introduction of the famous first theme),
measure 45 (second theme introduction)
Harmonic Prolongation
Emphasis of underlying classical-style elements
Thematic deveoplement theme that begins in measure 14 serves as a basis
for the entire movement and is developed/rhythmically animated at places
like measure 37
3. The motto rhythm introduced on the onset of the piece is developed throughout
each section of the work. The first theme basically becomes the basis of the
teleological movement of the first movement. There is an unsettling exposition with
a lot of harmonic shifts brought about by introduction of non-chord tones and fifth
progressions that end to start the development at measure 150, which is less
agitated but mysterious compared to the exposition and during which a new subject
is introduced. The recap then starts at 398, gentler than when the theme was
introduced in the exposition; relaxed. In addition, it arrives at the dominant of B-flat

at bar 45 setting up the arrival at tonic in the Coda. Each section seems to build to a
climactic moment of which is a structural downbeat both rhythmically and as a large
harmonic landmark in the piece. The next section then does the same to the next
landmark and so on until the Coda and then the end of the piece. The Coda
beginning at 583 brings the whole movement together in ultimate closure using
thematic material from both the first and second theme sections and confirms the
tonic. Throughout the coda, Beethoven continues to increase the rhythmic and
harmonic intensity of the repetitions of the themes creating anticipation for the final
form the thematic material will before the end of the movement. It then ends with
the last iteration of the first theme at measure 655 and ends in a slurry and fury of V
and I chords.
4. Compared to Haydn and Mozart, the first movement of Beethovens fifth
symphony uses the short-short-short-long fate motif in a way that has more
seriousness and weight. In addition, Beethoven uses the same rhythmic riff over and
over in almost every measure as where the Mozart and Haydn dont use them as
frequently. In the Heroic Style according to Burnham, Beethoven creates the
illusion of powerful motion, the realization of a large-scale rhythm. The fate motif
has much more significance in the Beethoven in that the 4-note motif is the basis of
which is the structure and rhythmic goal of the entire movement. While the idea in
the Haydn and Beethoven is that the smaller thematic sections developmental
building blocks blocks of a fixed thematic entity, in Beethoven the constant
repetition of the motif over different harmonic shifts create incredible drama and
energy and builds to a whole that is essentially a reflection the opening gesture the
gesture serves as the whole and the whole is essentially the gesture. They are both
types of thematic development but while the Haydn and Mozart have additive
building blocks, the Beethoven has adaptive building blocks according to Adorno.
5. I think this has to do with the same idea aforementioned in the fourth question.
The smaller motto rhythms and themes spread throughout the harmonic layout of
the work and they act as a presence of the protagonist character. Throughout the
entire work, the repetitions of these smaller motto rhythms sonically represent the
changes that the hero is experiencing, whether physically or mentally, through the
various developments the motto rhythm itself experiences. The repetition of these
shorter thematic sections sustain the drama of the Heroic Style and because there is
no change in the thematic material throughout a section, any change is drastic and
that much more effective in portraying a musical shift in story, perspective, or
events in a Heroic Style work. They also allow for very effective builds to climatic
moments and effective tension and release effects.
6a. The third movement of Beethoven 5, the Scherzo, acts as a sort of transitional
section that is attaca into the fourth movement. In the Heroic Style, the coda in the
smaller sonata form sense is meant to bring unequivocal closure to a movement. In
the structure of the heroic style, the coda takes up about as much temporal space as
the exposition, development, and recap. Likewise, the finale is like the coda of the
entire symphony and so to make sure that the finale has the effect of ultimate

closure, the Scherzo becomes a huge transitional section of which the end is the
famous search for C major from C minor that is evident throughout the work. The
last movement must become be a Coda that balances out all of the twists and turns
and uncertainty created by the previous movements.
6b. The fourth movement then is just a build to the coda at which the movement
becomes a part of coda-ception (as in inception). The coda of the fourth movement
is the coda of the coda of the whole symphony. The coda of the fourth movement
then starts by a series of dominant-tonic resolution and there is a long and drawn
out struggle of dominant to tonic shifts that ultimately end in the tonic and
symbolizes the win of tonic in the overall scheme of the piece and in doing so brings
the sense of ultimate closure.
7. I was first tempted to state the obvious and say Napoleon and the French
Revolutionists, however, it seems that Beethoven wrote the 3rd symphony to tell the
story of his heroism in his struggle of going progressively deaf. The first movement
starts off in the tonic key but is skewed very early on by the C-sharp that appears in
the 3rd measure. This in turn changes the course of the piece and the theme
modulates in an out of various keys. This represents Beethovens once perfect
hearing and his self-confidence diminishing. The second movement, a funeral march,
represents the darkest point to which the deafness brings him. The third movement
then is transitional into the fourth movement, which the two movements together
represent his overcoming of the deafness. In some ways, the hero of the Eroica
Symphony is the listener as well, Beethoven with the heroic style allows the
audience to get visceral reactions from which the audience feels like they are the
heroes. Whether one knows and becomes sympathetic to Beethovens struggle and
overcoming or they relate the music to their own lives, it is certain that a listening of
the Eroica creates a very personal sense of recollection and emotional reaction.