EXAMPLE FOR ANALYSIS, No. 21.
Beethoven: The Fifth Symphony, Slow movement.
We have already pointed out in Chapter X that the slow movement is usually written in some sectional form. Beethoven followed the old models in this respect in the majority of his slow movements, but his enrichment of the content of the music and his skill in avoiding conventional endings and other platitudes makes his pieces less rigid in effect than those of Haydn and Mozart. He was particularly fond of leaving his listeners until the last moment in doubt of the ultimate conclusion of a passage, leading them away from his point and coming back to it by an unexpected modulation or turn of phrase; he frequently ends the section of a movement with one or two brusque chords suddenly inserted after a passage full of sentiment. In short, his sectional movements are less obvious in design, and more flowing and continuous, than was the custom before his day.
The andante of the Fifth Symphony is in free variation form, the divisions—unlike those in the variations referred to in Chapter VII—not being clearly marked nor regular in form. The theme has two parts, but Beethoven skillfully avoids that prolixity sometimes evident in Haydn's "Andante with Variations;" nor does he lengthen his two themes to such an extent as to make them a little doubtful as proper subjects for variation treatment, as did Haydn. Furthermore, although the second part of Beethoven's theme is a better subject than Haydn's "Trio" theme, being more terse and more characteristic, Beethoven presents it in nearly its original form each time it appears, making the first and more important subject serve as the basis of his variations. Such changes as do occur in the second theme will be noted later. The complete movement may be tabulated as follows:
TABULAR VIEW OF STRUCTURE OF THE ANDANTE OF THE
FIFTH SYMPHONY.[45]
| Sections. | Themes. | Measures. |
| 1. | Theme I in A-flat major | 1-23 |
| Theme II in A-flat and C-major | 23-50 | |
| 2. | First variation of theme I, A-flat major | 50-72 |
| | Second part of theme I as before but with more elaborate accompaniment | 72-99 |
| 3. | Second variation of theme I, A-flat major (theme given out three times: cellos, violins and basses) | 99-124 |
| Episode, founded on initial motive from theme I | 124-148 | |
| Theme II in C-major (first two phrases lengthened) | 148-158 | |
| Episode, founded on motive from theme I | 158-167 | |
| Theme I in A-flat minor | 167-177 | |
| Transition passage leading to return of theme I | 177-186 | |
| 4. | Theme I, A-flat major | 186-206 |
| 5. | Coda | 206-248 |
The foregoing table may be compared with that of the Haydn variations in Chapter VII. While the general scheme is the same—for the two themes are in each case presented several times—the Beethoven variations are much more concise, and at the same time much more fully expressive and illustrative of the original theme. Haydn's variations are na?e; Beethoven's are conscious. Beethoven presents his themes from widely different points of view; Haydn presents charmingly elaborate versions of the same melodies. "Composers did not for a long while," says Parry,[46] "find out the device of making the same tune or 'theme' appear in different lights, so as to make studies of different aspects of the same story under changing conditions, as in Robert Browning's Ring and the Book."
These entirely distinct presentations of the original idea give to this movement an especial charm, placing it far above any of Haydn's or Mozart's variations.