The first four notes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 may be the most famous and most recognizable notes ever written. This opening theme is sometimes referred to as the fate motif. Anton Schindler described this motif as “fate knocking at the door.” Beethoven himself said, "so knocks Fate on the door!" Beethoven (Dec. 16, 1770 - March 26, 1827) may have began work on this symphony as early as 1805. Unlike some composers who worked rather quickly, Beethoven anguished over every piece and re-worked music until it was absolutely perfect. To further complicate things, he slowly but steadily lost all of his hearing. The premiere performance took place in the unheated Theater-an-der-Wien (located in Vienna) on the evening of December 22, 1808. Beethoven conducted the orchestra, as depicted in the picture above. The evening also included the premiere of the Pastoral Symphony (No. 6), Fourth Piano Concerto and the Choral Fantasy with Beethoven conducting from the piano.

The motif is presented con brio (with fire) with the orchestra playing fortissimo (double loud) as if to announce “Look at me! I’m important!” Indeed it is! This short-short-short-long rhythmic pattern pervades the entire work. To underscore its importance there is a fermata on the last note which allows the conductor to stay on that note as long as needed.

You must be able to answer the following questions:
How does Beethoven make the same initial idea or motif interesting for an entire seven minutes of music?

In what ways does Beethoven push the limits of the Classical Era?

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