So a while ago if you remember I listened to Beethovens fitfth symphony in my music appreciation class and I still think it is boring, which is an OPINION WHICH I AM ENTILED TO, OK?? But anyway today we listened to the second movement and it was so nice and pretty!!! I loved it!! It was almost as beautiful as River Flows In You. I have these questions--- What is a movement? Why would you write 2 things that sound totally different and call them part of the same piece? Are all of Beethovens' songs as pretty and soothing as this?
Lauren C-B2009-04-26T18:09:19Z
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1. ALMOST as beautiful as "River Pukes in You?" Wow... 2. Mvmts are sections of larger works. They work the same way that a chapter in a book works (books are those things that they used to make you learn how to read in school). If you read an entire book that was all the same thing, it would be pretty boring, wouldn't you think? 3. Beethoven's music is all different. Some of his pieces are soothing, some are angry, some are sappy, some are funny (yes, I said funny)...but they all have different moods. Sure, you'll be able to pick out a few that convey the same type of feeling, but the general thing to remember is that they're all different. One musician making music that all sounds the same didn't become popular until the late 20th century (I'll reference Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, every band you hear on the radio except for a select few--*cough cough* The Beatles and a few others...but don't worry, everyone popular from the 90s and forward all makes music that sounds the same--so pick a band and stay with them!)
You have to remember when Beethoven was writing music, there wasn't movies or radio or anything like that. If you think of the music as telling a story, it would make more sense. If you were to listen to a 30 minute story with the same things the whole time, you would get bored really fast. I think you should expand your listenings because Beethoven's Fifth, while good, is overplayed in my opinion.
The following are all pieces by Beethoven that I like: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor-Op.31 No.2 "Tempest" Allegretto, Symphony No.5, String Quartet No.4 in C minor
>>>>>I listened to Beethovens fitfth symphony in my music appreciation class and I still think it is boring, which is an OPINION WHICH I AM ENTILED TO, OK??
Perhaps we should not call this a difference of opinion, but rather a difference of taste. You probably don't go for motive play. That's all right. That sort of thing is beastly difficult to compose, but it doesn't appeal to a lot of listeners.
>>>>>It was almost as beautiful as River Flows In You.
Most of us old-timers in this category deify Beethoven. That's why this statement got the response that it did.
Some of us judge a composition not by how lovely it is, but by how masterful it is. Check out Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Poulenc, and Faure. Those are some composers who are as pleasant and melodious as Beethoven, but not nearly as masterful.
For that matter, check out Schubert, who lived at the same time as Beethoven. I find his music easier to listen to the first time than that of Beethoven because it is more melodically simple. However, if I were to listen to a composition by each composer twenty times, I would expect Beethoven to win out.
>>>>>What is a movement? Why would you write 2 things that sound totally different and call them part of the same piece?
With a little skill--or, I should say, a high degree of skill--a composer can fit movements together which contrast in terms of fast and slow, loud and soft, high and low, and three-four and four-four, but which do not clash with each other.
In fact, good composers take into consideration listeners like you, who don't relish motive play. They realize that it is an exhausting game, so they often lay it to rest after the first movement, reserving the later movements for something which is easier to listen to. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is a clear example of this. Another clear example is the Bach E major violin concerto. Here, the first movement is all bits and fragments, the second movement is a dark and somber piece in a minor key, and the third movement is a rondo with the same catchy tune always coming back.
Wait till you get to the third movement. Here, he takes the four-note signal from the first movement and uses it again, but this time he uses it differently. This device has been called a "thematic link," and I think it's Beethoven's own invention.
Wait till you get to the fourth movement. Here, Beethoven repeats something from the third movement, but he puts it in in a place where it fits. Franck does the same thing in his d minor symphony, and he probably got the idea from Beethoven.
It has been said that Franz Josef Haydn's early symphonies were little more than collections. But Haydn lived a long life and wrote a lot of symphonies, so he eventually learned.
Take some of your popular song albums and make notes about which songs are slow and which are fast, which are major and which are minor, and which are three-four and which are four-four. Betcha you will find that pop singers assemble song albums much the same way that composers assemble symphonies and sonatas.
>>>>>Are all of Beethoven's songs as pretty and soothing as this?
Oh, before I forget it: in our ivory tower, the word "song" refers to a short vocal composition. For an instrumental composition, "piece," "composition," or "work" would be a better word.
The slow movement to the Pathetique Sonata is one of Beethoven's best in the "pretty and soothing" category. The composer of the song "Somewhere Out There" has been accused of copying from this piece.
Likewise for Fur Elise. This piece evokes so many inquiries on this board that even the Beethoven-lovers have started to hate it.
There is also the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata. This piece is in the sonata form, but the form is deeply imbedded enough to fool people into thinking it ISN'T in the sonata form. This is another piece which the regular members are tired of hearing about.
Farewell to the Piano is about as lovely as a melody can get. Some say that it was Beethoven's last work. Some say that someone else wrote the piece and forged Beethoven's name. Whoever wrote it did a fine job.
Yes, indeed, you are entitled to your opinion. But keep in mind that uninformed opinions don't deserve or get much respect. It's a fact of life.
Mr. Suwahak's answer is about the best answer one could give to your question, and I would read it over and over, if I were you. And I would listen to the Symphony (there's no singing in this piece -- so it's not a song).
Beethoven is not trying to sooth the listener all the time -- he is trying to challenge the listener's brain. So far you have not met the challenge, and I suggest you keep trying -- the rewards will be great.
Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, however wrong it is. Most people acknowledge that it is a masterpiece... of course, you know better right? (With all your years of expirience and musical training).
MY opinion is that "River flows in you" is an inconsequential piece of tripe.
All symphonies are composed in "movements." They conform to a classical standard and each section is musically inter-related (look it up on wikipedia). Beethoven's music (like most of that of the great composers) runs the full range of musical expression and emotional content. Some is calm, other is decidedly not.