RE: [Discussion Post]: What is your favorite Beethoven Symphony?
Wonderful post and a good read @cmp2020
Man, I've never been able to decide which symphony was my favorite. All of them carry such a significant message that seems to correlate with different times of one's life.
I just wanted to voice a thought of mine after reading your post. A work of Beethoven that is extremely influential in his symphonies is his oratorio "Christus am Oelberge". Written shortly after he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, it shows an extremely distraught and human side of Beethoven. It not only bled emotionally but was filled with revolutionary and radical ideas, such as the double fugue in the 2nd movement of his 3rd symphony.
Although not entirely successful in the oratorio, the compositional techniques and ideas that he experimented with in the oratorio proved fundamental in allowing Beethoven to write and finish the "Eroica" symphony.
Thank you for this informative comment! The double fugue is in fact the section which I thought sounded "cinematic." The eroica is just full of revolutionary ideas (and borrowed ones from other compositions too apparently). I appreciate your participation in this discussion. One thing which I found interesting is that when I listened to all 9 for this post, I also read the sheet music. It doesn't seem that he uses a double fugue again until the 9th (where he has 2 in the 4th movement alone). I definitely might have missed some/not remember some (possibly in the 7th), but this makes me wonder why the 3rd and the 9th were so special/boundary pushing for him (in this regard). I would love your thoughts on the matter.
I personally think that he stopped using the double fugue in his symphonies because he was utilizing that technique in his quartet writing. The double fugue from his 3rd symphony was the starting point for mapping out the Große Fuge for string quartet which was written a good 20 years after the completion of his 3rd symphony. It was extremely controversial after its completion and contained concepts that are still relevant in contemporary classical music.
The 3rd symphony was the most significant work for Beethoven personally in his life. After struggling with the escalation of his deafness and suicidal thoughts he stated that “I will seize Fate by the throat; it shall certainly not bend and crush me completely”. His 3rd symphony served as a foundation on which he lifted himself back onto his seat as the leader of the exploration of the musical frontier. It served as a statement not only to the audience but to himself, proving that he was still capable of composing and creating controversial and powerful music.