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How A Great Symphony Was Written
New York Philharmonic. Leonard Bernstein
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Simplicity itself made manifest. This theme is a statement, a bare
Fact. Beethoven always started with a fact, an axiom, and his art
Consists in examining that fact with so universal a range of vision
That the axiom becomes living experience. We've seen something of
This in our discussion of his Fifth Symphony, but the Eroica Symphony
Is perhaps the supreme example of that universality, especially in
This first movement, where we are face to face with the great mystery
Of Beethoven's dialectic: the wedding of simplicity and complexity
We begin at the beginning, with those two whiplashes of sound that
Shatter the elegant formality of the 18th century. And what are these
Two chords, so commanding and brave? Simple triads in E-flat major
Now, the physical laws of music are so constituted that triads turn
Out to be the chords on which our classical Western music has come to
Be based. All primitive wind instruments, for example, automatically
Produce the notes of the triad that evolve out of the fundamental
Note of the instrument. That's how bugle calls were born. If a bugle
Is built so that its fundamental note is E-flat, then by maneuvering
His lips, the bugler can produce the overtones of that E-flat, and
They will complete the triad. As you see, there are only three
Different notes, but they go on repeating in order as the player goes
Higher, so that out of these three different notes can come Reveille
And Taps and Mess Call and all the others. And out of that same
Simple triad come the opening two chords of the Eroica as well as the
Arresting first statement. Which brings us back to the basic
Materials of music. Beethoven has taken a triad, a series of notes
That couldn't be more basic, and made from it a theme which perhaps
By itself is not what one might call a great melody. It is only the
Fact, the bugle call fact, out of which Beethoven is going to create
His complex superstructure. Now, how does he do it? By taking this
Extremely simple musical material and enlivening it, making it grow
Complicating it in oddly new ways, with constant surprises and twists
And unexpected discoveries about it. It is this element of the
Unexpected that is so often associated with Beethoven. But surprise
Alone is not enough. What makes his music so great is that no matter
How shocking and unexpected the surprise may be, it always somehow
Gives the impression, as soon as it has happened, that it is the only
Thing that could have happened at that moment. This is the
Extraordinary thing we learned from his Fifth Symphony: inevitability
Is the keynote. It's as though Beethoven had an inside track to truth
And rightness, so that he could say the most amazing and sudden
Things with complete authority and cogency. The first surprise in
The Eroica comes immediately after the theme has been stated. That
Is certainly the last note one could have expected here, but it is
The note that throws the first fresh ray of light on the basic
Material of the preceding two bars. It is a wrench, an arbitrary
Unprepared departure out of the home ground of the theme. Now, what
Has been accomplished? We've been given the premise of the whole
Work: struggle. Before eight seconds of music have passed, we have
Already been involved in a conflict. There has been a stab of
Intrusive otherness, almost of pain, and then we have struggled
Back to normal within the next eight seconds. But we now know what
We are in for: this first movement is going to be a battle. Now
Beethoven goes on to expand on his triad theme. But what new
Shocks have we had now? Rhythmic ones. Again, Beethoven is finding
New meanings in his basic material, this time in his meter. The
Whole movement goes in rapid groups of three: 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-
3, And so on, and the basic stress is naturally on 1: 1-2-3, 1-2-
3, Like a waltz. But now we are suddenly hit by displaced accents
A kind of syncopation, which makes the music go 1-2-3, 1-2-3
Instead of the normal 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1. Then
He goes on and does it even more elaborately: 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3
1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3.Each displaced accent is a shock
But all the shocks add up to an impetus that is pure Beethoven
Exciting, new, and powerful
And all through a simple variation on
The way of looking at one, two, three
This syncopated passage leads to a
Statement of the theme by the full orchestra
And we are now ready to leave this home ground
To seek new material, new keys, and new subjects
What ordinarily happens at this point in
The first movement of a classical symphony
Is that we embark on a transition section which will lead
Us to our second main theme in a new contrasting key
But Beethoven, the gigantic one
Presents us with no less than three potent transition subjects
Each one of which is meaningful enough to be called a theme in itself
And only then do we reach the second theme proper
This triple transition begins with a lyrical motive
The second element in the section burgeons out of the first
Returning upwards the descending scale that fed into it
And now the third element
Remember we are still in the transition between themes one and two
And now we are finally ready for the tender, yearning second theme
Why did he need all those transitions?
Well let's experiment for a moment and see how the music
Would have flowed if only the first transition had been used
Actually, as you will see, it works perfectly
Well to leave out transitions two and three
The key progression is right, even
The orchestration works out smoothly
It would sound like this
Excellent, you say? Yes, but not good enough for Beethoven
Because he realized with that divine sensitivity of his
That this lyrical transition motive
Does not set up the still more lyrical second theme
What is needed is a foil for this yearning
A sense of combat, the struggle we spoke of earlier
In order to point up more dramatically
The contrasting tenderness to come
And this is well supplied by the agitated third section
So that when the second theme finally does arrive
It seems clothed in a new refreshing glow
But even this contrast is not enough for him
In the second theme itself, the wistful
Longing character lasts a mere sixteen bars
When suddenly it stiffens in apprehension like
A wild animal that senses danger and bridles
You see how he carries on his sense of battle and conflict
He cannot leave the human condition pat and untouched in this music
There is no status quo
There is always the new danger, the all too short relaxation
Then again the challenge, and again the
Riding off to meet it with a great battle cry
These elements of freshness are so abundant
That it is difficult to choose among them
Take the famous hammer blow chords at the end of the exposition
The so-called "barbaric dissonances"
Again, Beethoven is dealing with a basic commodity of music
Tonic harmonies and dominant harmonies
But he has channeled a new way and built a new sound
Simply by combining them simultaneously
Tonic plus dominant, thus giving a sense of pulling and tearing
In the middle of the raging development
Having just concluded a staggering passage of blows and wounds
Tearing at us with dissonances and displaced accents
Beethoven does a rather special thing
He introduces a brand new theme
Now by the strict rule, the development section should
Develop themes already stated in the exposition
Which it does, extensively. But the giant in Beethoven
Eventually takes over and adds a new, almost elegiac
Melody, which is like a song of pain after the holocaust
Again, it turns out that this new material was necessary to
Serve as a foil for the return of the original heroic theme
Gigantic, yes. Everything a little more, a little bigger
A little longer, a little stronger. But not one wasted note
Later on, in the enormous coda that concludes the movement
This extra theme again makes its appearance, again in a most
Unorthodox fashion, making a coda that dwarfs all others in majesty
The study of the Eroica is a lifetime work, and we have only been
Skimming, and over one movement, at that. But we have seen something
Of how Beethoven uses basic, almost infantile musical materials
And infuses them with new life. How he makes complexity of simplicity
. How he uses the surprise element with that inevitable sense of
Justness. How his statements always evolve in the large
Giant-like. There's hardly a bar in the symphony where
These qualities cannot be found. And the better you know
This music, the more you will be filled with wonder and
Gratitude for this great spirit that grappled all its life with
The most elemental and stubborn phenomena of human experience
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