The Humanistic Tradition, Book 5 Romanticism, Realism, and the Nineteenth-Century World

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TJ123-8-2009 LK VWD0011 Tradition Humanistic 6th Edition W:220mm x H:292mm 175L 115 Stora Enso M/A Magenta (V)

CHAPTER 29 The Romantic Style in Art and Music 61

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invention reflect his preference for dramatic spontaneity
over measured regularity. The powerful opening notes of
the Fifth Symphony—a motif that Beethoven is said to
have called “fate knocking at the door”—exemplify his
affection for inventive repetitions and surging rhythms that
propel the music toward a powerful climax.
Difficult as it is to imagine, Beethoven wrote much of
his greatest music when he was functionally deaf. From the
age of twenty-nine, when he became aware of a progressive
degeneration of his hearing, he labored against depression
and despair. Temperamental and defiant, he scorned the
patronage system that had weighed heavily upon both
Mozart and Haydn, and often sold his musical composi-
tions as an independent artist. He declared contempt for
the nobility and ignored their demands. In 1802 he confid-
ed to his family, “I am bound to be misunderstood; for me

there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined

conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas. I must live

alone like one who has been banished.” In retreat from soci-

ety, the alienated composer turned to nature (Figure 29.15).

In the woods outside of Vienna, Beethoven roamed with

his musical sketchbook under one arm, often singing to

himself in a loud voice. “Woods, trees and rock,” he wrote

in his diary, “give the response that man requires.” His dis-

covery that nature mirrored his deepest emotions inspired

his programmatic Sixth Symphony (1808), which he sub-

titled “A recollection of country life.” Each of the five

movements of the “Pastoral” is labeled with a specific ref-

erence to nature: “Awakening of happy feelings on arriving

in the country”; “By the brook”; “Joyous gatherings of

country folk”; “Storm”; and “Shepherd’s Song, happy and

thankful feelings after the storm.” In the tradition of

Figure 29.15Beethoven Composing the “Pastoral” by a Brook, from the Twenty-Second Almanac of the Zürich

Musikgesellschaft for 1834: Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven. Colored lithograph, 6^1 ⁄ 2  52 ⁄ 5 in. In 1802, as his

hearing became increasingly worse, Beethoven moved to the small village of Heiligenstadt, outside of Vienna.

His sense of isolation and his heroic struggle to overcome despair are reflected in his music.