Beethoven: the changed return

Written changes

Choose a written change to play up to three bars from each passage.

1. A · b. 1
   B · b. 248The opening G–G–G–E♭ comes back an octave higher in the first violins, G5–E♭5 replacing G4–E♭4. An F fills the quaver-rest at bar 248. Flutes and oboes, silent in bars 1–⁠5, now join the C minor return.Play the change
2. A · b. 7
   B · b. 254An oboe holds C above the returning strings; the cellos pluck a C an octave below their earlier held note. The first violins play A♭–A♭–A♭–G before the familiar entries. Their C in bar 256 lasts one beat; in bars 9–⁠10 it lasted three.Play the change
3. A · no separate entry
   B · b. 268The orchestra stops and the oboe plays alone. In bar 268, at the point where bar 21 had a pause, the oboe plays an Adagio: a held G, a falling F–E♭–D, a quick E♭–D–C–D turn, then F–E♭–D and another pause. The whole passage fits inside one expanded bar.Play the change
4. A · b. 22
   B · no separate entryThe loud A♭–F figure in bars 22–⁠24 and the pause after it are left out. After the oboe, bar 269 takes up the soft A♭–A♭–A♭ figure from bar 25, so the transition is three bars shorter.Play the change
5. A · b. 30
   B · b. 274A held violin F in bars 30–⁠32 breaks into quavers in bars 274–⁠276: F–D–D–D, B–A♭–A♭–A♭, G–B–B–B. The next bar begins on C, replacing the E♭ of bar 33.Play the change
6. A · b. 52
   B · b. 296The cellos leave their repeated C to join the descending quavers. The first violins’ G♭ in bar 54 is written F♯ in bar 298. The chord at bar 58, B♭–D–F, leads to E♭ major; at bar 302, G–B–D leads to C major.Play the change
7. A · b. 59
   B · b. 303The horns’ B♭–B♭–B♭–E♭–F–B♭ call in bars 59–⁠62 returns in the bassoons at bars 303–⁠306 a minor third lower, as G–G–G–C–D–G. The horns enter at bar 306 and join the held G.Play the change
8. A · b. 63
   B · b. 307The violin tune now plays G–C–B–C–D–A–A–G in C major; its earlier form, B♭–E♭–D–E♭–F–C–C–B♭, was in E♭ major. At bars 311–⁠314, flute and oboes answer while both violin parts rest. Earlier, at bars 67–⁠70, the tune was given to the clarinet above the second violins.Play the change
9. A · no separate entry
   B · b. 319The flute plays the C major tune again in bars 319–⁠322, accompanied by oboes and bassoons. The violins stop for these four added bars, which are inserted at the point where bars 74 and 75 met in the exposition.Play the change
10. A · b. 75
    B · b. 323The violins keep their B♭–C–D♭–C phrase. Flute and clarinet answer B♭–C–B♭–A, with A♮ replacing A♭. The next violin phrase also shifts: D♭–E♭–F–E♭ in bars 79–⁠80 becomes C–D–E♭–D in bars 327–⁠328, before another woodwind answer.Play the change
11. A · b. 83
    B · b. 331The strings’ E♭–F–G♭–F climb becomes F–G–A♭–G. Its eleven bars, 83–⁠93, stretch to fifteen, 331–⁠345. Later, F♯–G and A–G turn above a bassoon D; earlier the bassoons had repeated C.Play the change
12. A · no separate entry
    B · b. 339First violins play F♯–G and A–G over the bassoons’ held D in bars 339–⁠342. These are the four extra bars in the pairing; the final three-bar approaches, bars 91–⁠93 and 343–⁠345, correspond to each other.Play the change
13. A · b. 94
    B · b. 346The closing music is in C major. At bar 346 the first violins start on a single G, where bar 94 had B♭ in octaves. Their descent is now G–F–E–D–C; the earlier B♭–A♭–G–F–E♭ is transposed to the home key, with E♮ in the chord.Play the change
14. A · b. 122
    B · no separate entryAn E♭–G–B♭ chord in bar 122 and two silent bars close the exposition. The return runs straight on to the C major chord at bar 374, where the coda begins. That chord falls outside these paired passages.Play the change

Timing and volume

Differences between the two passages come from the score, the players, their instruments and the recording.

The 118 matching bars take 100.4 seconds on return and 95.7 seconds the first time — 5% longer.