DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (April 4, 2020)

The Motivfuhrung and the Fifth Symphony-A detective story in 3-PARTS

Part 2: A cold trail

We start by advancing our definition:

Motive: 1: something (such as a need or desire) that causes a person to act

2: a recurrent phrase or figure that is developed through the course of a musical composition

3: of or relating to motion or the causing of motion

Here again is the starting times of each movement of the 5th Symphony conducted Furtwangler:

Movement 1: 0:00

Movement 2 8:14

Movement 3 18:49

Movement 4 24:36

Movement 2 has puzzled many fans who love to identify the Motivfuhrung. While that four-note motif is present throughout the symphony, it is conspicuously absent in this one. The trail has gone cold. In the works of Haydn, who first discovered this type of motivic leading, it was typical for a single movement to be organized by the motivfuhrung, but not the entire four-movement piece. Is it possible that Beethoven is leading us to believe that that is the case here, by omitting that motif, so he can shock us when it comes back? What is his motive?

The third movement (starting at 18:49) begins somewhat furtively, almost tip-toes around, when suddenly at 19:16, that motif explodes onto the scene in a rather heavy-handed (or heavy-footed) manner. It's a surprise. We have not heard it for over 10 minutes. It is also different. The motiv repeats 4 times, in a long phrase of 16 notes. But, one note repeats 12 times! GGGG GGGG GGGG BbAGF. How is that possible? While it is true that other voices are moving against it, the mind hears, not in terms of notes, or even phrases, but in IDEAS. We are not hearing this as an isolated phrase, but, like a good detective, we are thinking about how it changes everything we thought we knew, up till now. We are in a new domain, uncharted waters. A cold case has been re-opened., and nothing like it has ever happened in a symphony before. Mozart had used the same motivic idea for an entire symphony, but not in such a powerful, and conspicuous way! This is something new on the face of the earth, like discovering a new continent.

The motiv adopts that furtive, sneaky quality later in the third movement. Find it!

This is obvious in the 4th movement (at 28:00), when the music stops, and puts it right under the spotlight.

But it is time to elevate the discussion. Stay tuned!