51ºÚÁÏ

The fact that Beethoven worked on this symphony, albeit not continuously, across a three-year period in-part reflects the sheer originality of the work and was a trait also seen in his working on his Ninth Symphony. Indeed, in a review of the Fifth Symphony in 1810, renowned critic and academic E. T. A. Hoffman is one of the first to identify Beethoven’s music as pointing towards Romanticism:

‘Beethoven’s instrumental music opens the realm of the colossal and the immeasurable for us. Radiant beams shoot through the deep night of this region, and we become aware of gigantic shadows which, rocking back and forth, close in on us and destroy all within us except the pain of endless longing. … Beethoven’s music evokes terror, fright, horror, and pain, and awakens that endless longing that is the essence of romanticism.’

• Context of composition
• Dictation and ‘spot the errors’ exercises
• General aural perception exam-style questions
• Extended response questions
• Further learning and a reading list
• A summary of musical elements
• Answers to all questions
• Relevant to three A level specifications:
  • Edexcel, Area of Study 2: Instrumental Music
  • Eduqas, Area of Study A: The Development of the Symphony 1750-1900
  • OCR, Area of Study 1: Music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven

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