Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5: First Movement Analysis
First Movement of Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
Ludwig van Beethoven
Rhythm
The rhythm is binary, regular, and constant, measured in 2/4 time. The tempo is Allegro con brio (fast and energetic). A rhythmic cell—three eighth notes and one half note—generates the entire movement. Although this cell appears twice in the first five bars, the use of a fermata on the half note obscures the rhythm’s continuity. From the sixth bar, the theme exposition begins with the cell’s proliferation throughout the orchestra.
Melody
The melody functions as a theme, integral to the movement’s structure and development. The theme, a sixteen-bar phrase, expands from the initial cell. Rhythmic and harmonic elements are more significant than melodic curves or singable design. The key of C minor is established by the cell’s consecutive presentation: first, the fifth and third in the tonic chord, then the seventh and fifth in the dominant chord. Harmonic progressions determine the cell’s intervals throughout the movement.
Theme B, starting at bar 62, is more lyrical and melodic, in a major mode, contrasting the previous section’s drama. It features a simple rhythm of half notes.
Instrumentation
The instrumentation is a classical symphony orchestra without solo parts: bowed strings, woodwinds (two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons), brass (two horns and two trumpets), and timpani (tuned to C and G). Strings initially present Theme A, with winds providing chordal support. A violin timbre prolongs the fermata’s sound, anticipating Beethoven’s Romantic style. The bridge section’s crescendo incorporates the full wind and percussion sections.
In Theme B, winds take a prominent role, following Mozart’s practice for lyrical second themes. The theme’s introduction by four bars of horns, modulating the initial cell to E-flat major, is a notable timbral resource, foreshadowing Romantic practices. Beethoven contrasts strings and winds, with the cell passing between them in a question-and-answer format after the double bar, shifting to F minor.
Texture
The movement’s texture is homophonic, based on harmonic relationships. Melody is subordinate to harmony. The question-and-answer process between orchestral sections is not contrapuntal imitation, as there are no independent melodic lines. Chord progressions and harmony drive the movement. A polyphonic texture example in the symphony is the fugato in the third movement’s central section.
Form
The first movement follows Sonata Form. This analysis covers the exposition section. After Theme A (C minor), the bridge section extends from bars 22 to 58. Theme B (E-flat major) reaches bar 110, starting the closing section to the double bar. All sections are interconnected by the three-eighth-note and half-note cell (e.g., Theme B’s rhythmic bass in cellos and double basses). The exposition repeats. A development section follows, then a recapitulation with variations: an oboe solo after Theme A, Theme B in C major (maintaining the minor-major contrast), and an extended coda emphasizing the work’s monumental character and returning to C minor.
Genre
Symphonic instrumental music or pure abstract music.
Artistic Period
Classical, with elements of the Romantic style, characteristic of Beethoven’s transitional period.
Chronology
First decade of the nineteenth century.