Thursday, April 7, 2011

4/7 The 5th Symphony (Color Analysis)


The good ole 5th Symphony gets alot of press. I've even analyzed this before in a previous post (Greenberg analysis). However since this breakdown by Alan Rich is different (especially in the 2nd movement), it's worth putting together here.  It also demonstrates how structural analysis is merely an approximate description of how a work flows, and can be interpreted in different ways, even by published professionals.  It's worth reminding that Beethoven himself never thought in these terms - he just KNEW what should come next and did it, intuitively.  But these things have certainly been a great help to me when trying to understand a large work (or even a small work).

Symphony No. 5 in C minor,Op. 67
Arturo Toscanini, NBC Symphony Orchestra 1952
I. Allegro con brio (sonata form) starting from (0:03)
II. Andante con moto  Theme and variations starting from (7:19)
III.Allegro (Ternary, ABA) starting from (16:18)
IV. Allegro (Sonata form) starting from (20:57)

I. Allegro con brio (sonata form) starting from (0:03)
Exposition:
1st theme (BLUE)
2nd theme (MAROON)
3rd theme (BROWN)
Exposition (repeat):
1st theme (LT BLUE)
2nd theme (LT MAROON)
3rd theme (LT BROWN)
Development:
1st theme (PURPLE)
2nd theme (PURPLE)
Recapitulation:
1st theme (BLUE)
2nd theme (MAROON)
3rd theme (BROWN)
Coda (based on 1st theme) (PURPLE)

II. Andante con moto  Theme and variations starting from (7:19)
Theme
1st variation
2nd variation
3rd variation (based on 1st variation)
4th variation
5th variation
6th variation (based on 1st variation)
7th variation
8th variation
9th  variation
10th variation (coda)

III.Allegro (Ternary, ABA) starting from (16:18)
Part A:
1st theme (MAROON)
2nd theme (BLUE)
Both 1st and 2nd themes (PURPLE)
Part B:
1st theme GREEN)
1st theme (return) (GREEN)
Part A:
1st theme (variation) (LT MAROON)
2nd theme (variation) (LT BLUE)
Both 1st and 2nd themes (variation) (LT PURPLE)
Coda (LT GREEN)
   
IV. Allegro (Sonata form) starting from (20:57)
Exposition:
1st theme (BLUE)
2nd theme (MAROON)
3rd theme (BROWN)
4th theme (OLIVE)
1st Development:
3rd theme (PURPLE)
2nd theme (reprise of Mvmt III 2nd theme) (VIOLET)
Recapitulation:
1st theme (BLUE)
2nd theme (MAROON)
3rd theme (BROWN)
4th theme (OLIVE) 
2nd Development (or Coda):
3rd theme (PURPLE)
2nd theme (PURPLE)
4th theme (PURPLE)
1st theme (PURPLE)

(form analysis from Alan Rich's "Play by Play") 

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