of the last pages of the Finale, which can only be compared to
a sunset with its slowly fading colors and its last burst of glory.
The general style of the Second Symphony however is that of
Haydn and Mozart, though raised to the highest pitch of elo-
quence. In the Third Symphony the complete Beethoven steps
forth. It was his declaration of independence, and in this work,
as he himself said, he began a completely new line of activity; it
was also his own favorite among the symphonies.[136] Hereto-
fore there had been no such impassioned utterance as is revealed
in the first movement of this Third Symphony and there have
been few, if any, to equal it since. The Fourth Symphony is
an entrancing work and shows Beethoven’s inexhaustible vari-
ety of mood; since, save for the “grand manner” peculiar to all
his works, it differs strikingly from the Third and the Fifth. It
was composed during the happiest period of Beethoven’s life
and is related in its whole character to his emotions and aspira-
tions at that time.[137] The slow movement is the most sublime
love-song in music. The Fifth Symphony is undoubtedly the
most popular of them all, in the true sense of the term.[138]
The reason for this verdict is the unparalleled combination in a
single work of the emotional intensity found in the first move-
ment, the touching appeal of the slow movement, the mystery,
followed by the reckless display of spirit, in the Scherzo and the
paean of rejoicing which rings through the Finale. The Sixth
or Pastoral, Beethoven’s one excursion into the realm of tone-
painting based on natural phenomena, is of interest more as a
point of departure for the work of his successors than for its
intrinsic message. The conception of the possibilities of musical
description has so widened since Beethoven, and the facilities for
orchestral color so increased, that this symphony, though it has
many characteristic beauties, sounds a bit old-fashioned. The
Seventh is one of the most original of them all, incomparable for
its rhythmic vitality—the Apotheosis of the Dance, as Wagner
called it.[139] If rhythm be the basis of music and of life itself,
this symphony is thoroughly alive from start to finish, hence
immortal. The Eighth is the embodiment of Beethoven’s (pos-
sibly) most individual trait—his abounding humor. Never be-
fore had symphonic music played such pranks as are found here,
especially in the Finale. The Symphony is in fact a prolonged
Scherzo[140]—the third movement (a Minuetto) being merely
for contrast. The Ninth Symphony, composed in the philosophic
period of Beethoven’s life, when he was attempting still greater
ann
(Ann)
#1