Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh Symphonies: A Closer Look

Description

Composers often write pieces in highly contrasting moods in very close proximity. But no composer took this process further than Beethoven. His famous Fifth Symphony, with an opening any child knows, became the standard for the Romantic, tragedy to triumph, "victory symphony." The sunny Seventh however represents a high-water mark of relaxed lyricism and painting in tones. On a superficial listening, they couldn't sound more different from one another. Yet by examining them more closely, they have more in common than their emotional trajectories might suggest. This book aids the listener in getting beneath the surface of these two beloved symphonies, revealing that however disparate the expressive message, the language and style remain Beethoven's--a symphonic voice as powerful in struggle and victory as in relaxation and meditation.

David Hurwitz has been writing about classical music for more than twenty years. As a critic and commentator, his articles and essays have appeared in such well-known publications as High Fidelity, Opus, Classical Pulse!, In Tune, the New York Observer, Musical America, Stereo Review, CD Review, and numerous other magazines and newspapers, both in the U.S. and abroad. Founder and executive editor of www.ClassicsToday.com, the Internet's first classical music-daily review magazine, Hurwitz is also the author of eight books on subjects ranging from Haydn and Mozart to Mahler (The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual), Dvorak, Sibelius, and Shostakovich. He lives in New York.