Symphony No. 5, Op. 67

1. 0:01
   Opening motif, bars 1–⁠5

   A quaver rest, three Gs, then E♭ held under a fermata. Three Fs follow and fall to D, which is held for two bars, longer than the E♭. Both held notes come within the first five bars.

2. 0:52
   Horn call, bars 59–⁠62

   The horns turn the opening rhythm into a broad call: B♭–B♭–B♭, then E♭, F and a lower B♭. The intervals widen, and the music moves to E♭ major.

3. 0:55
   E♭ major melody, first violins

   The first violins play an E♭ major melody, marked dolce. Under it, the cellos repeat three short B♭s and a longer E♭. The opening rhythm is now in the accompaniment.

4. 1:25
   First performance, Vienna, 1808

   The symphony was first performed at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, on 22 December 1808. The same programme included the Sixth Symphony, the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Choral Fantasy.

5. 1:43
   Exposition repeat

   Two bars of rests, bars 123–⁠124, lead back to bar 1. The whole exposition repeats, with the opening music, the horn call and the E♭ major theme. Each theme is heard a second time before Beethoven begins to break the themes apart.

6. 2:30
   Schindler’s “Fate” anecdote, 1840

   In 1840, thirteen years after Beethoven’s death, his former secretary Anton Schindler reported that Beethoven had described the opening bars to him with the words “Thus Fate knocks at the door!” Schindler also forged entries in Beethoven’s conversation books, and historians have long doubted his word.

7. 3:23
   Horn call falling to G

   After the second E♭ major ending, the horns play their call again, this time falling to G. The strings follow with three D♭s falling to C. In this rhythm the strings’ D♭ clashes with the G held by the horns.

8. 4:28
   Alternating chords, winds and strings

   The quick rhythm is reduced to single chords. Winds and strings alternate across rests, getting quieter. The violins move through B♭, C♭ and D♭, then drop to low C♯.

9. 5:14
   Oboe Adagio, bar 268

   The orchestra stops on a chord at bar 268, and the strings rest. One oboe holds its G under a fermata, then descends through F, E♭ and D in a short Adagio. An E♭–D–C–D turn leads to a final D, also under a fermata.

10. 5:50
    Bassoon call, bars 303–⁠310

    The bassoons play the call that the horns played before. Their G–G–G, C, D, G leads to the violin melody in C major, a minor third lower than before and with different instruments accompanying it.

11. 6:12
    Horn call in the recapitulation

    In the exposition the horns play the call in E♭ major. In the recapitulation the same call is in C major, and Beethoven gave it to the bassoons, since the E♭ horns would have had to change to C crooks.

12. 6:42
    High C over a moving bass

    The violins hold and repeat a high C while the bass moves C–A♭–E–F, so the same top note sits in a different chord each time. The coda is long, and more material follows before the final C minor chords in bars 491–⁠502.

13. 7:56
    Return of the opening fermata

    Near the end, in bars 479–⁠483, the held E♭ of the opening returns under a fermata. Three Fs fall to a long D, as in the first five bars. Beethoven again stops the pulse with the same unequal holds.

Joins

1. 0:52
   Silent bar before the horn call

   A diminished-seventh chord over C (A–C–E♭–G♭, bar 56) cuts off, and bar 57 is silent. A short B♭ major chord over D follows at bar 58 and points towards E♭ major. The horns then play three B♭s, then E♭, F and B♭ (bars 59–⁠62). Their held note carries into the quiet violin melody, marked dolce.

2. 1:43
   Two silent bars before the repeat

   Three short dominant chords resolve to E♭ major, with the bass moving B♭–E♭ and the first violins D–E♭. Two silent bars follow. The repeat brings back the opening Gs and held E♭, with the strings and clarinets playing in octaves.

3. 3:23
   D♭ against a held G

   The E♭ major cadence and the two silent bars return. This time the horns play B♭–B♭–B♭ down to G, and the strings follow with D♭–D♭–D♭–C against the held G, so that D♭ and G sound a tritone for a moment. After the fermata, quiet second violins and bassoons bring in F minor over a C in the cellos.

4. 4:17
   Paired chords reduced to single chords

   Winds and strings exchange pairs of slow chords. The strings play C seventh over G, then F minor over A♭ (bars 198–⁠199). From bar 209 each group plays only one chord and rests while the other group plays. A diminuendo leads towards pianissimo F♯ minor at bars 215–⁠220. The repeated quavers have disappeared.

5. 4:56
   Diminished-seventh exchanges lead to the recapitulation

   From bar 233 to bar 240, quiet winds and strings alternate on B–D–F–A♭, the diminished seventh that points towards C minor. Fortissimo A♭–A♭–A♭–F fragments break into these exchanges and come at shorter intervals. The bass moves from F to three Gs. At bar 248 the opening E♭ returns under its fermata, now reinforced by winds and horns.

6. 5:14
   Half cadence leading to the oboe cadenza

   The orchestra reaches G major, a half cadence in C minor. The strings stop, and the oboe is left on G. Its unaccompanied Adagio descends F–E♭–D, turns through E♭–D–C–D and descends again. A fermata holds the final D. The violins then resume with three A♭s falling to F.

7. 5:50
   Bassoons lead the second theme into C

   A silent bar comes before a G major chord over B, the dominant of C. The bassoons play the call: G–G–G–C–D–G. Their last G is held beneath the quiet violin melody, which now begins G–C–B–C. The horn call and E♭ major second theme of the exposition return here in C major, a minor third lower.

8. 6:42
   Cadence in C major opens the coda

   G major resolves to C major, with G–C in the bass and B–C in the first violins. The same arrival begins the coda. High C alternates between held notes and tremolo while the bass moves C–A♭–E–F. Beneath the repeated C, the chords change from C major to F minor and back.

1. 0:00
   Opening theme, violas and cellos

   The violins rest. Violas and cellos play the A♭ major melody in octaves, in a dotted rhythm, while the double basses play pizzicato beneath. Beethoven marks the tune dolce, sweetly.

2. 1:16
   Dotted tune in C major, tutti

   The orchestra moves into C major. Trumpets and timpani reinforce the dotted tune, and the strings run beneath it.

3. 1:56
   First variation, violas and cellos

   Violas and cellos play the opening melody again in A♭ major, now filling its outline with semiquavers. The basses support them pizzicato, as before. The metre remains 3/8.

4. 2:30
   Dedication to Lobkowitz and Razumovsky

   The Fifth is dedicated jointly to Prince Lobkowitz and Count Razumovsky. Both names also appear on the Sixth Symphony, which was first performed with it in 1808.

5. 3:15
   Choral Fantasy, 22 December 1808

   The Choral Fantasy, which ended the concert of 22 December 1808, went wrong. Beethoven forgot the plan he had given the players and repeated a section, so the concertmaster stopped and called out dryly, “Again!” Afterwards Beethoven asked the orchestra’s pardon.

6. 3:56
   Variation in demisemiquavers

   The lower strings divide the tune into demisemiquavers, quicker than the earlier semiquavers. The outline of the melody is still there in the fast bow strokes. After a fermata, clarinet, bassoon and flute play a quieter succession of phrases.

7. 5:00
   Composition, 1804–⁠1808

   Beethoven sketched the Fifth in 1804, soon after the Eroica, and finished it in 1808. In the intervening years he wrote Fidelio, the Razumovsky quartets, the Appassionata, the Violin Concerto, the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Fourth Symphony.

8. 6:24
   Third fanfare and A♭ minor episode

   The third fanfare in C major dies away. Trumpets and timpani drop out, leaving smaller figures in the strings and woodwind. The tune moves into A♭ minor before the opening melody returns in full in A♭ major.

9. 7:24
   Return of the opening theme, A♭ major

   The opening tune returns in A♭ major, fortissimo. The line that began in violas and cellos now goes to the winds and violins, and the lower strings play quick accompanying figures.

10. 8:12
    Coda, bassoon solo

    In the coda, marked Più moto, the bassoon has a short solo above detached strings, still in 3/8 and in A♭. Tempo I later restores the opening pace for the last phrases.

11. 9:00
    Esterházy payment, December 1808

    What the concert of 22 December 1808 earned for Beethoven is not known. A record shows that Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, who had commissioned the Mass in C, ordered 100 gulden paid to him for the benefit.

12. 9:45
    Final cadences in A♭ major

    In the final cadences the bass moves from E♭ to A♭. The movement ends in A♭ major, the key of the opening theme in the low strings, with the full orchestra playing.

Joins

1. 1:56
   Bass descent back to A♭ major

   After the C major fanfare, the bass descends E–E♭–D–D♭–C, then moves through D♭ to E♭, the dominant of A♭ major. Violas and cellos play the opening melody again in semiquavers, above plucked basses. The brass rests. The Andante tempo is unchanged.

2. 3:56
   Second chromatic descent to A♭ major

   The C major fanfare again ends as the bass descends E–E♭–D–D♭–C. The harmony returns to A♭ major, and the low strings play the melody in demisemiquavers. The bars stay in 3/8, so more notes fall within each bar, and the varied line keeps the rise and fall of the original tune.

3. 6:24
   Trumpets and timpani stop

   The C major fanfare makes a diminuendo. Trumpets and timpani stop. The strings carry on with short repeated figures, which pass between the upper and lower parts, and the woodwind then enter. In the A♭ minor passage that follows, C♭ and G♭ are added to the outline of the theme.

4. 7:24
   Fortissimo return of the opening melody

   Rising figures pass through the strings, and a crescendo brings in the winds. The opening melody returns fortissimo in A♭ major. Winds and first violins play it together, while violas and cellos accompany in quick notes above an A♭ in the basses.

5. 8:12
   The bassoon solo at Più moto

   The full A♭ major statement is followed by quieter strings. At Più moto, a bassoon plays a solo above detached string chords and short bass notes, and the bar of three quavers is kept. The wind and strings build another crescendo by degrees, and Tempo I then restores the original pace.

1. 0:00
   Low strings, C minor arpeggios

   Cellos and double basses climb through the notes of C minor. A quiet reply comes from the orchestra above, followed by a fermata. The low strings play the phrase again, and the three-beat metre stays suspended between these phrases.

2. 0:32
   Horn entry, opening rhythm

   After the cellos climb through a chord, the horns enter with the rhythm that opened the symphony, three short notes followed by a long one. They repeat a single pitch.

3. 1:26
   Trio in C major, cellos and basses

   The trio is in C major. Cellos and double basses play a running tune, and the other strings take it up in turn, each entering before the previous entry has finished.

4. 1:52
   Sketches and Mozart’s G minor Symphony

   Beethoven’s sketches show that the first and third movements were conceived first. In the sketchbook he used for the Eroica, this scherzo is linked to the finale of Mozart’s G minor Symphony, which also begins by climbing a minor triad.

5. 2:18
   First performance, Vienna, 1808

   On 22 December 1808 Beethoven introduced the Fifth and Sixth symphonies in the same concert at the Theater an der Wien. He also played his Fourth Piano Concerto. The evening included music from the Mass in C and ended with the Choral Fantasy.

6. 2:55
   Repeat of scherzo and trio

   Beethoven’s autograph has the scherzo and trio played twice before the last scherzo. The first printed parts leave the repeat out, and Jonathan Del Mar’s Bärenreiter edition argues that Beethoven himself ordered the cut. This performance plays the shorter form.

7. 3:34
   Return of the scherzo, pianissimo

   The opening returns in C minor, rewritten and pianissimo. Clarinets and bassoons exchange the repeated-note rhythm with pizzicato strings.

8. 4:10
   Instruments held back for the finale

   The piccolo, contrabassoon and three trombones do not play in this movement. Beethoven gave them their first notes in the finale.

9. 4:58
   Transition to the finale

   The timpani repeat C. Cellos and basses hold A♭ beneath C in the first violins and violas. The violins begin to move, and a long crescendo leads without a break into the C major finale.

Joins

1. 1:26
   Scherzo into the C major trio

   The scherzo closes in C minor. The trio turns to C major, and the cellos and double basses open it in running quavers. The tune passes upwards through successive imitative string entries, and the bassoons join them. The metre remains in three beats to the bar.

2. 3:34
   Trio to quiet scherzo reprise

   The trio dies down, and the low-string arpeggio returns in C minor. The scherzo comes back quietly. The repeated-note call moves to clarinets and bassoons, with pizzicato strings around it, so the rhythm is now played in short, dry attacks (Breitkopf & Härtel full score, pp. 45–⁠49).

3. 4:58
   Timpani under held strings

   The detached phrases stop. Cellos and basses hold A♭; first violins and violas hold C, marked pianississimo. The timpani repeat C against that bass. The violin line gradually begins to move, and the orchestra builds a crescendo that carries the chord into the finale’s C major.

1. 0:00
   Finale opening, trombones enter

   The opening climbs a triad, C–E–G. Three trombones give the chords new breadth, and piccolo and contrabassoon extend the orchestra at both ends. Beethoven held these players back until the finale.

2. 1:20
   Second group in G major

   The second group is in G major. Strings and winds divide the phrases between them, and short repeated-note figures keep them moving.

3. 2:00
   Letter to Count Oppersdorff, 1808

   In March 1808 Beethoven wrote to Count Oppersdorff about the three trombones and piccolo in the finale. He promised that it “will make more noise than 6 kettledrums and better noise at that”.

4. 2:14
   Repeat of the exposition

   The exposition repeats, returning to the opening march in C major with full brass. The music moves to G major again before Beethoven develops the themes further.

5. 3:25
   Benefit concert, 22 December 1808

   Reichardt reported that Beethoven met great resistance in staging his benefit concert on 22 December 1808. The singers and orchestra were drawn from many groups, and the long, difficult programme could not be rehearsed in full. Four hours of music were played.

6. 4:26
   Second-time bar and development

   The repeated exposition now takes its second ending. The low strings and contrabassoon move down by semitones under held wind chords. Running figures pass through the strings and then the woodwind.

7. 5:20
   Reichardt at the première, 1808

   The composer Johann Friedrich Reichardt watched the première from Prince Lobkowitz’s box. “There we sat, in the most bitter cold, from half past six until half past ten,” he wrote, and concluded that one may easily have too much of a good thing.

8. 6:14
   Return of the scherzo

   In the C major finale, C minor and the scherzo’s three-beat bars return. Quiet string notes leave gaps for entries from bassoon and clarinet. The trombones fall silent.

9. 6:50
   Recapitulation in C

   The quiet bridge passage builds in a crescendo, and the opening tune of the finale returns in C, with piccolo, contrabassoon and trombones. The later melodies of the recapitulation are also in C.

10. 7:50
    Hoffmann’s review, 1810

    E. T. A. Hoffmann reviewed the Fifth in 1810 for the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung and called it “one of the most important works of the time”. He revised the essay in 1813 for his collection Kreisleriana.

11. 9:08
    Extended coda

    The coda is in two parts and gives the familiar figures another long stretch of music. Quiet wind phrases are taken up by more players, then the tempo increases through Sempre più allegro to Presto.

12. 10:10
    Letter to Franz Wegeler, 1801

    In November 1801 Beethoven wrote to his friend Franz Wegeler that he would “seize fate by the throat”, and that it should certainly never wholly overcome him. His hearing had already begun to fail.

13. 11:10
    Final cadence in C major

    The orchestra plays chord after chord of C major, with rests between the attacks. Beethoven extends the final cadence well past its expected length. All the players end in unison on C.

Joins

1. 2:14
   Exposition repeat from G to C

   The exposition closes with G major chords and a brief rest. The repeat brings back the opening C major triad, C–E–G, above C in the bass. Trombones reinforce the wind and string chords, and the piccolo rises above them. The Allegro tempo continues.

2. 4:26
   The second ending lowers the bass

   The second ending continues the G major closing music. The bass then moves down from G through F♯ to F beneath held wind chords, and the strings play running figures that pass between parts. The Allegro continues; the figures pass to the woodwind and the harmony moves away from G.

3. 6:14
   Return of the scherzo music

   The full orchestra holds G, the dominant of C, before Tempo I changes the metre to 3/4. The C minor scherzo music returns in pianissimo strings. The bass plays short notes separated by rests, and bassoon and clarinet reply above. Piccolo, contrabassoon and trombones stop playing.

4. 6:50
   Crescendo into the C major Allegro

   The quiet wind phrases and repeated viola chords build through a crescendo. The strings play arco again, and the timpani enter. At the Allegro, in common time, the opening C major tune returns over C in the bass, with piccolo, contrabassoon and all three trombones playing again.

5. 9:08
   Into the coda in C major

   The C major closing music continues into running string figures and forceful wind chords. Cello and double bass carry the figures down into the bottom of the orchestra. The tempo stays at Allegro. Later, quiet bassoon and horn phrases begin another build towards the faster ending of the coda.

1. 0:00
   Opening motif and fermatas

   Beethoven begins with a rest, three Gs and an E♭ held under a fermata. Three Fs then fall to a longer D. Mengelberg has two written pauses to shape before the strings begin passing the rhythm between them.

2. 0:48
   Horn call, bars 59–⁠70

   The horns play the three-short-note rhythm with wider intervals: B♭–B♭–B♭, E♭, F, B♭. The violins follow with a melody in E♭ major. Below it, the cellos continue the repeated-note figure.

3. 3:08
   Telefunken SK 2210, 1941

   Telefunken issued this performance in 1941. The Concertgebouw Orchestra plays under Mengelberg, and SK 2210 carries the first part of the opening movement. The rest of the movement is on the other side.

4. 4:06
   Development, alternating chords

   In bars 196–⁠247 the development reduces the four-note rhythm to alternating minim chords. Winds and strings take turns across rests, marked diminuendo and then sempre più piano. The exchanges end when fragments of the repeated-note figure return.

1. 0:02
   Opening fermatas, bars 1–⁠5

   Three Gs fall to E♭, then three Fs fall to D. Each long note has a fermata, which gave Nikisch room to hold the orchestra still. The second hold lasts across two written bars.

2. 0:50
   Acoustic recording, Berlin, 1913

   On 10 November 1913 Nikisch and the Berlin Philharmonic recorded the whole symphony in one day. The engineer Max Hampe captured their playing through a horn. Air moved a diaphragm, and a stylus cut the music into wax.

3. 0:57
   Horn call before the violin melody

   The horns stretch the opening rhythm into a call across wider intervals. Their last B♭ is held beneath the violin melody, which begins softly in E♭ major. The cellos continue the repeated notes underneath.

4. 1:43
   Start of the development

   Nikisch left out the exposition repeat. After the E♭ major cadence, the horns’ three B♭s fall to G and the strings follow with D♭–D♭–D♭–C, which begins the development (bars 125–⁠128).

5. 3:14
   Return of the opening motif

   G–G–G–E♭ returns, with winds and horns reinforcing the strings. Beethoven has rebuilt the opening from short fragments and quiet chord exchanges. The fermatas stop the orchestra again.

6. 3:39
   Oboe solo, bar 268

   A G major chord stops the orchestra, but the oboe holds its note. Alone, it descends F–E♭–D, adds a turn and descends again. Beethoven writes Adagio over this short solo inside the Allegro.

7. 4:21
   Horn call in the bassoons

   The bassoons take over the horn call, now G–G–G–C–D–G. The violin melody follows in C major. Its first leap, G up to C, keeps the shape of the earlier version and brings the melody closer to the home key.

8. 5:09
   Bass line under a held C

   The violins hold a high C while the bass moves C–A♭–E–F, so the cadence does not close here. The coda ends later with its closing chords in C minor.

1. 0:00
   Opening motif, bars 1–⁠5

   The famous opening begins with a quaver rest. Three Gs then fall to E♭, which is held under a fermata. Three Fs follow and fall to D.

2. 0:47
   Second subject, first violins

   After the horn call, the first violins play the new theme in E♭ major, marked dolce. Below it the cellos repeat three short B♭s and a longer E♭, the rhythm of the opening motif.

3. 1:20
   Odeon recording on eight sides

   Odeon issued the complete symphony on eight sides, numbered 76147–⁠76154. The labels named the company orchestra and did not name the conductor.

4. 1:30
   Strings on D♭, bars 125–⁠130

   The horns repeat B♭ and fall to G. The strings follow with three D♭s and a C, which clash briefly with the held horn note. The opening rhythm then begins to modulate.

5. 2:42
   Alternating chords, winds and strings

   Winds and strings alternate single chords in minims, with a rest between each. Beethoven marks a diminuendo, then sempre più piano and pp.

6. 3:27
   Oboe Adagio, bar 268

   The orchestra stops after a G major chord. The oboe continues alone, marked Adagio, descending through F, E♭ and D, then turning around the line before another held D.

7. 3:58
   Horn call taken over by bassoons

   The bassoons take over the earlier horn call. Its new notes, G–G–G–C–D–G, prepare the violin melody in C major. The same tune is now a minor third lower.

8. 4:51
   Pedal C in the violins

   The violins hold a high C while the bass moves beneath it through C, A♭, E and F. A cadence becomes the start of the coda. The final chords return the movement to C minor.