Beethoven's music represents the triumph of a man who, because of his illness, was denied the joy of the music that he gave to the world, but gave that joy anyway. His music is freedom, compassion, and triumph over tragedy, hope, and a love offering to all of humanity. Beethoven purportedly stated that anyone who heard and understood his music would never be unhappy again. V.I. Lenin stated that he could not listen to Beethoven's music: that it made him feel tender with compassion that was contrary to what was needed to carry out the revolution.
No revolution is worth denying yourself Beethoven. His music is liberation. And hope.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is opus 67; his Sixth Symphony is opus 68. These two amazing works are cataloged one right after the other in the Maestro's collection of musical works. I always play the two symphonies together, just as they were heard for the first time in Vienna in December, 1808. I listen first to the Fifth, and then the Sixth.
If you play them together--first the Fifth, and then the Sixth--they blend together into a giant orchestral work of struggle, triumph, liberation, celebration, reaffirmation of liberation, and finally, Peace. The first CD collection I ever bought was Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic's 1962 recordings of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies. I spent forty dollars on it in 1992; money that I have always felt was well spent.
The final complete Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven was his Ninth, the Chorale. Like his Fifth Symphony, I have discovered that there are lots of little surprises in this, the Maestro's Masterpiece, that every classical composer since has been measuring their own work against.
The Ninth begins with a hectic, nearly frenetic First Movement, the movement of a man who knows he is running out of time. The symphony's Second Movement is representative of a man working at a nearly unimaginable pace; slowing only long enough to contemplate what it is he is going to do next. The tympani are used throughout to emphasize the 'hammering out" of the piece. The second theme of the movement is the creator examining his work thus far, looking for flaws, and--joy of joys--finding none. And then Beethoven returns to the first theme, continuing his work with renewed energy and vigor, and then ending abruptly, knowing like any true artist that it is not the work that interests the public, but the art.
The Third Movement is wistful: the artist sitting back and contemplating his finished masterpiece; wondering if there is anything undone, or worse still, overdone. He examines his work, and the more he examines it, the more certain he is that it is the best that he will ever create, which he announces in a crescendo of horns, followed by a moment of doubt: is he guilty of hubris? But no, this work is indeed worthy to be judged by the gods themselves, which Beethoven announces by an even greater crescendo of horns. This is followed by the artist rising from his bench, and going off to rest.
The Fourth Movement begins with a preview of the fifth "Chorale" movement, and then a recapitulation of the First, Second, and Third Movements, repeated and interwoven together. This for me represents the artist anticipating showing his work to the World, and remembering all of the hours of hard work and inspired thought that went into this work, his masterpiece.
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