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TE“; GRO'-.’TH, DEIELOPI-SUT AIFD
SIGITIFICIQTCE OF
BEETEOV‘G‘I'S NINTH
SYMPHONY

William H. Owen

 

 

 

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Michigan State

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THE GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND
SIGNIFICANCE OF
ammovm's mm
SYMPHONY

WILLIAM H; QEEN

THESIS

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

L. van Beethon Dr. A. C, Kalischer
L. van Beethoven Paul Bekker
Three Titiens Emil Ludwig
L. van Beethoven Daniel Gregory
The Unconscious Beethoven Ernest Newman
1.. van Beethoven, Creator Romain Rolland
. L. van Beethoven ' Romain Rolland
'The llan Who Freed Music Robert Haven Schaufi'er
' Vol. I a II

1.. van Beethoven Alexander L'I'hayer
A ' ' ve1.I-II-III
Studies or Great Composers C. Hubrt H. Parry

Iusical Quarterly - 192?
Beethoven - 9th Symphony, Columbia and Victor Records.
lms: Beethoven Sketches, Translated D. L. MacKinnon.

Beethoven - Search for Reality N. J. Turner
Symphonies as Their Meaning. Philip H. Goepp
Beethoven Symphonies Edwin Evans
Beethoven - 9 Symphonies Grove

Grave's Dictionary
The Art of Music Vol. 1, 11,111
Richard Iagner's Prose Works Vol. I ,II

FOR EWOR D

The purpose of this thesis is to give a detail-
ed consideration or the Ninth Symphony in its relation
and meaning as regards previous symphonic deveIOpment;
its significmce as implied by Beethoven and the inter-
pretations of its meaning which have been eXpressed in
a later period.

However, it is first necessary to give a back-
ground of the development or the symphonic form in order
to comprehend mlly the underlying conditions at the
time when Beethoven began writing and to realize fully

the significance of Beethoven's epochal work.

The deve10pment of the symphony was an out-
growth of the Florentine reform of 1600. It was due
to a revolt of the intelligentsia against the rigid
style of the church music. Musically, it was the re-
sult of two lines of develOpment, that of instrument-
al practises and instrumental forms._ A definite and
vital instrumental music began at the end of the 16th
Century and as has been noted it was a reaction again-
st the vocal polyphonic style of'the church which had
for so long held sway. The reaction was for a freer
style, a rhythmical quality which had been lacking, a
better defined hanmonic structure and more emotional
expression. The strong urge for rhythmical vitality
suddenly brought instrumental music into the foreground.

The great number of paths through which the
symphony evolved can only be briefly mentioned here but
it will prove adequate for a general background.

Some of the new instrumental forms were the
direct outgrowth of'the older vocal ferns. The earli-
est of these the canzoni being, for exmnple, instrumen-
tal versions of the madrigals, while others as the to-
ccata were new and originally conceived. The canzona
do sovar occupied an important place in the develOpment
of'orchestral forms. It was the chief vehicle of'a
great many experiments and gradually deveIOped win: the

more extended sonata da chiesa. Then followed the in-

fusion of the dance, forms and growth of the sonata da
camera or suite, which was an important step towards the
cyclic form, which in turn attained its full maturity in
the symphony.

The distinguishing feature of the sonata form.
over all other forms is the peculiar pattern of at least
one of its movements, usually the first, the outcome of
a long evolution, which, in its finally settled form,
with later Mozart and Beethoven, became the most flex-
ible and the most convincing medium for the elaboration
of musical ideas. The first-movement form appears in
the 18th Century in either of two primary forms: the bi-
nary, two sections, and the ternary, three sections. The
binary form as introduced by Pergolesi, is simply a
broadening of the song-form in two sections, each of
which is repeated, and having one single theme or sub-
Ject. Thus the second section simply reproduces the
thematic material of the first, but in the reverse order
of keys or tonality. Gradually, however, German suite
writers displayed tendencies toward expansion and modula-
tion of harmony especially in the restatanent of the
first theme. This deveIOpment reached the point of ob-
literating from the mind of the hearer the original key
and thus came into being the ternary song-form, that is,

the first theme, free deveIOpment of it, second theme

and restatement or recapitulation. The second theme as
time went on became more individualized, with distinct
melodic and rhythmic characteristics.

With Stamitz and the Mannheim school, one es-
sentially new musical idea was brought to instrumental
music, the idea of contrast, the contrast of key ahd dy-
namics. Contrast of key had been assidiously employed
for two hundred years but dynamic contrast did not ap-
pear until the advent Of Stamitz. While fiercely Oppos-
ed by the pedants among German musicians the practise of
contrast of dynamics found quick acceptance in the large
centers.

The inception of the Opera was also a large fac-
tor in instrumental deveIOpment. Not only did it offer a
field of wide instrumental practice but it was also the
abstract through which instrumental forms absorbed some
of the dramatic significance that proved to be a vitaliz-
ing influence. One of the first uses of the word symphony
was in description Of the Operatic prelude in certain in—
cidental bits of music. It was only with the creation of
the French overture by Lully that the Operatic prelude as—
sumed significance as an orchestral form. This French
overture as used by Lully consisted of three movements,

a brief introduction Of a slow and pathetic character, a
fast movement and a final repetition of the Opening slow

movement. At about the same time Scarletti in Italy was

setting the form.of the 'Italian overture'. This consist-
ed of two fast movements separated by a slow movement. La
general, the Opera overture served as a laboratory for ex-
periments in orchestral ferm.and it had a considerable in-
fluence on the orchestral music of the period.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach the most eminent Of
Johann Sebastian's sons contributed a most important part
to the deve10pment of the symphony. He has been given the
title of the father Of the piano sonata and it is he who
definitely fixed the pattern of the sonata and determined
its order of movements - Allegro, Adagio and Presto. His
great importance lies‘in his instrumental works, which
while they were characteristic of the time, held balance
to the side Of greater harmonic richness and artistic pro-
priety. They played an important part in the further de-
velOpment of the prevailing forms to a point where they
could become free enough and practical enough to deal with
the deep emotions. Thus Bach became the leader of this
new fiorm.and exercised a wide influence over his contem-
poraries and immediate followers.

When Joseph Haydn came on the scene the tenm
"sinfonia" was still being used to designate orchestral
compositions. Haydn's contribution to the symphonic fonn
was to bring about a greater clearness of outline, variety
of treatment, and enlargement Of ideas. His first symphon-

ies contained many crudities but he steadily improved. In

the very important first movement he gradually gave the
second theme its rights, found new ways of develOping
themes, and elaborated the working-out section. He was re-
sponsible for the inserting of fine minuet between the slow
movement and the finale, thus setting the example for later
practice. His string and wind sections became more inde-
pendent, his musical ideas more cultivated and his orches-
tration clearer and more buoyant. His work cheerful and
gay showed solid workmanship, and under his hands the symp
phonic form.gained stability, strength and a technical per—
fection which in a literal sense make him the founder of
the modern symphony.

The next most influential personage in the de-
veIOpment of the symphony is mozart. He brought nothing
essentially new,‘but, by the virtue of his great genius,
he endowed the symphonic forms as he found them.with a
hitherto unequalled depth and force of expression, and in-
dividuality so strong that it can truly be called "Mozar-
tian! sza t was not a reformer and his absolute indepen-
dence and self-sufficiency of style enabled him.to use
with equal success the vocal and instrumental idioms.. And
in his work is actually found an assimilation of the two
styles and an interchange of their individual elements.

The outstanding feature of all his instrumental music is
its peculiarly melodic quality, the constant sensuous grace
of melody regardless of rhythm.or speed. Mozart is the fi-

nal result of the strong influence which Operatic song had

exerted upon instrumental music since the beginning of the
18th Century.

Through Haydn and szart orchestral music emerged
strong and well defined from a long period of dim growth.
Their symphonies are the confluence of many streams of.music-
al develOpment most of which had their source in Italy. The
building up of the body of orchestral music was synthetical,
it had to await the perfection of the various materials
which were combined to make it. But Once the constituents
had fallen into place, the perfected combination made clear,
how and peculiar possibilities, to the cultivation which
Haydn and MOzart contributed enormously. These new possibil-
ities were in the field of sonority and tone color. In
search of these Haydn and MOzart originated the orchestral
style and pointed the way for all subsequent composers. Thus
we approach the figure who stands like a colossus, bridging
the gulf between the 18th Century Classicisms and.the 19th
Century romanticism.

We come, then to the period where Beethoven took
up the reins. He had as a background centugies of Justifie-
ble reverence for the traditional symphonic-form, and because
of this very fact, his daring disruption of this form.looms
with the greater significance as a historic turning point of

music 0

BEEBHOVEV'S THREE CREATIVE IERIODS.

Beethoven’s creative life is divided into three
distinct periods.

The first creative period ends with the year 1802
but includes the writing of the 2nd Symphony. The works of
Beethoven's first period were written in the style of Haydn
and MOzart. melodies and passages having a striking simi-
larity to the two masters works and yet parts of works
which undeniably revealed the future Beethoven. To quote
Schauffler, ”Beethoven had one foot on the formal 18th and
the other on the Romantic 19th. In spite of the great pow-
er which Beethoven pOssessed and was fully conscious of, he
was never an iconoclast or radical. He was rather a builder
whose architectural traditions came fromfwell-accredited
sources, in kinship probably somewhat closer to Haydn than
MOzart. However, his tOpics were different, he had a far
greater use of rhythmic gesture, a more nervous and full-
blooded eloquence, his was 18th Century music raised to a
higher power.

{TThe second period begins in 1803 with the writ-
ing of the Kreutzer Sonata and marks a distinct change of
style. This period was characterized by maturity, wealth
of imagination, humor, power and individuality to a marvel-
lous degree. If Beethoven had done nothing after 1814 he
would still be one of the very greatest composers in the

field of pure instrumental music. His ideas increase in

breadth and variety, the work becomes more harmonious and
significant, touching;many sides of thought and emotion.
It was in this period that Beethoven broke away
frOm.the idea of definite types of treatment for certain
kinds of forms. As in the rondo and scherzo Beethoven
made them.eXpress what he felt according to his conception
of an idea. Likewise the number of movements were determ-
ined by the content of the work, and the conventional repe-
tition Of themes was made a matter of choice. The usual
method of key succession used in a large number of sonatas
of Haydn.and Mozart, was used only if he thought it agree-
able to his ideas. .Beethoven.also disregarded the conven-
tion of separating different sections from one another by
well-defined breaks; instead, he subtly connected the dif-
ferent sections by phrases akin to the main theme, thus
making the connecting link an inherent part of the piece.
He also makes use of episodes in the working-out section,
introduces even new themes and eXpands both the coda and
the introduction. These changes are of the nature of en-
largementstf a plan already accepted and as Grove states
it, seem.”to have Sprung from the fact of his regarding
his music less as a piece of technical perfOrmance than
his predecessors had perhaps done, and more as the eXpres-
sion of the ideas with which his mind was charged." These
ideas were too wide and too various to be contained within

the usual limits, and, therefore, the limits had to be en-

larged. Other musicians had allowed themselves liberties
but not with the same high-handed individualistic confi-
dence of Beethoven. He typified the general movement of
freedom at the end of the 18th Century and what he felt
he said both in society and music. However, the great
differentiation was the fact that in society he was ex-
tremely abrupt and careless of his manners while in his
music he was painstaking, laborious and never satisfied
until he had conveyed his ideas in unmistakable language.

Thus, conventional rules and regulations of com-
position were made subservient to what he considered the
essentials - consistency of mood and develOpment of the
poetic idea. He becomes the tone poet whose versalitity
and beauty of expression increase with the increasing pow-
er of his thougth

The transition to the third period is even more
definitely marked than that to the second. To it belong
the pianoforte sonatas Opus 101 to 111, the marvelous
quartets Opus 127 to 135, the Ninth symphony and the mass
(in D, works built on a grander scale than those of the
second epoch. It almost would seem as if the form enlarg-
ed and extended, ceased to exist as such and became a prin-
ciple of growth, comparable only to the roots and fibers of
a tree. The polyphony becomes free and varied and serves
only to repeat, intensify by contrast the poetic idea. The

orchestra becomes inadequate for expression of his ideas

and he adds the choral part, moreover, these later works
are touched with a sort Of mysticism, as if the musician
had ceased to speak in order to give the prOphet utterance.
To quote Dannreuther, "He passes beyond the horizon of a
mere singer and poet and touches upon the domain of the
seer and the prOphet; where, in unison with all genuine
mystics and ethical teachers, he delivers a message of re-
ligious love and resignation, identificatiodrwith the suf-
ferings of all living creatures, depreciation of self, ne-
gation of personality, released from.the world."

During this period Beethoven was planned almost
beyond endurance by the rapid approach of total deafness.
He was plunged in the depths Of deepair and had contemplat-
ed at different times ending his life.' All of these fac-
tors aided to put him in a pathetic mood. He wrote regard-
less of any traditional form and expressed the anguish.and
longings of his soul. His chief concern was the principle
of germination and the evolution of a given theme.through
every manner of metamorphasis. -

His most radical modifications, as regards the
movements themselves, were the substitution of the scherzo
for the minuet and the introduction Of the chorus into the
symphony. With the exception of the 8th Beethoven abandon-
ed the minuet entirely. We find the 3rd movement of the
let symphony entitled 'mdnuetto' but it is really a scherzo

and serves as a minature model for the scherzos of his 5th

and 9th.

The second outstanding innovation of the chorus
in the finale of the 9th stands as a stupendous monument
to the man and humanity of the world. It voices the last
and best message of the master and is the crowning achiev-
ement of a remarkable career. Beethoven conceived the
use of the chorus as an enlargement and enrichment of the
forces of the orchestra.

The changes in technical features found in the
3rd period are Of far less importance, comparatively,
than the increase in aesthetic content, individuality and
expression. Beethoven did not strive for new innovations
for the sake of mere originality but undertook them only
with extreme discretion and only as necessity required.e
Even to the last it is evident that his most extensive
work was built on the sonata form, and when this is not
always clearly apparent it is found upon study, that the
details which seem to obscure the true basis, are organic
and logical amplification Of the structure itself, never
more additions. However, the last works, and especially
those for piano are of such a.mystic nature as to make it
impossible for the average listener to appreciate them to

the fullest extent.

 

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02996 1830