Favorite Moments in a Beethoven Symphony

[hornteacher]

I've been following the Greenberg DVD lectures on the Beethoven Symphonies and am really digging deep into the individual moments of the pieces.  I thought it would be fun to share your personal favorite individual moments from any of the symphonies.

For example, one of my very favorites is in the 1st movement of the 7th when the horns go into overdrive, playing in the high register at the first tutti of the main theme.

Or

The musical "lashings" in the 1st movement of the 4th just as the introduction ends going into the first theme.

I've got lots more but let's hear yours.

[Ephemerid]

Symphony No. 6, the final movement close to the beginning, right after the clarinet introduces that opening C-G E C-G motif and the horns come in mimicking the clarinet but in fifths G-C-C (octave up) G-G -- when those horns come in on that swelling chord there (F), oh wow!  That has always moved me so deeply. 

Another moment is later in that movement with that ornate variation of the theme on a solo cello. 

The very end of the ninth.  INFECTIOUS!!!

[Sergeant Rock]

In the first movement of the Eighth symphony, that loud, dissonant, relentless juggernaut at the end of the development--100 forte measures leading to the fff recapitulation. Bernstein once described it as Sacre du printemps a century early.

Sarge

[johnQpublic]

Late in the final movement of the 7th the parts and harmony keep sinking lower & lower before staging a victory comeback.

[not edward]

Above all, the scherzo-finale transition passage in the 5th. Also the big dissonant chords at the end of the development in the first movement of the Eroica. And a second for both Sgt. Rock and johnQpublic's offerings.

[springrite]

Three slow movements: 7, 9 and 2, in that order.

[Dana]

Above all, the scherzo-finale transition passage in the 5th.

      Yes! This part is incredible to perform (and Klemperer's EMI non-GROC performance is unmatched in its ferocity)! Another favorite is the last time the solo quartet enters in the 9th symphony. Great harmony listening there. Also the end of the second movement of the Pastorale - with the conversing flute, oboe, and clarinet.

[JoshLilly]

For example, one of my very favorites is in the 1st movement of the 7th when the horns go into overdrive, playing in the high register at the first tutti of the main theme.

That might be mine. Gardiner described that moment as "the strings hanging on for dear life", heheh. I also like the big climax near the end of the first movement of the 2nd Symphony. Other than certain climactic passages in the finale of his original Leonore¹, this is some of the most "intense" music Beethoven ever wrote. Intense may not be the right word, but I'm not sure how else to describe it.


¹ He actually seemed to tone it down a bit in his finished Fidelio, but that may just be recording differences.

[lukeottevanger]

For me, the coda of the (relatively overlooked) second symphony, first movement, is a real standout place. Perfect pacing, proportion, power. The whole movement is a real gem, and this clinching moment is just marvellous.

[Sean]

Towards the end of the first mov of the Fifth is an extraordinarily inward but powerful section, low string based if I remember, which always seems undeveloped, as though a window was opened onto something very interesting but which was only used as part of the concluding argument. Anyone know the bit I'm talking about?

Luke, there's many premonitions of the Eroica in the Second.

[ChamberNut]

Wonderful topic! 

So many, many great moments.

The beginning of the 7th Symphony, with the breakout of the strings is out of this world.

For the Eroica, I love how you go through the heartwrenching Funeral March 2nd movement transitioning into the uplifting and sunny Scherzo 3rd mvt. 

[gmstudio]

Above all, the scherzo-finale transition passage in the 5th.

I came here to say that very thing. It's one of those moments by which I measure a whole cycle.

Also, the opening of the 8th...bright, strong, powerful, almost like a dance.

[Gustav]

this part from the 4th symphony

[rappy]

In the slow movement of #9, when it turns to D major. But actually, the whole movement.

[Morigan]

Ah, what a great thread! I agree with most of the posts already made here, truly great moments.

I'm also glad to find a little appreciation for the poor 2nd Symphony.

I've always had a special feeling about the Finale of the 2nd. First, this incredibly playful mozartian theme... and most of all the end of the recapitulation and the coda. You always think it's over, but then there's an unexpected chord that takes it elsewhere. I like to describe the coda as a happy mix of surprise, fun and a little awkwardness.

[Brian]

Well a few leap to mind immediately:
- the bassoon solo in the finale of Four!
- the opening bars of Eight!
- the magical beginning of the recap in the slow movement of Six!
- the opening of the last movement of Six!
- that ridiculously silly dissonant chord near the start of the finale of Eight!
- the first seconds of Nine!

[(poco) Sforzando]

- that ridiculously silly dissonant chord near the start of the finale of Eight!

What ridiculously silly dissonant chord near the start of the finale of Eight?

Too many to count, but here are a few:

1/4: The slow introduction to the finale, each phrase adding another note in a different rhythm until the main movement starts.

2/1: As mentioned by others, the climax of the coda, the exciting section with a chain of suspensions for the trumpets and horns.

3/1: The moment after the start of the recapitulation where the solo horn takes off in F major, followed by a passage in Db for the flute before the music returns to the tonic.

3/2: The way the funeral march, which initially sounds like a simple ABA form (C minor - C major - C minor), is interrupted in the return of the A section by those three mighty episodes that make this movement feel so huge and eventful.

3/3: The moment when the rhythm changes briefly and abruptly from triple to duple time.

4/1: The little dialogue between bassoon and clarinet.

4/1: The long pianissimo timpani roll on Bb at the close of the development. An unusual example of returning to the tonic key within the development, rather than bringing it back at the start of the recapitulation.

4/2: The second subject on the clarinet, and the pizzicato strings following.

5/3: The "ghostly" staccato reprise of the scherzo, just before the transition to the finale.

6/1: The way long stretches of the development are built solely on repetition of a single rhythmic motif, with no harmonic motion at all.

6/2: The orchestration, with the beautiful use of two muted cellos.

7/1: The return to the recapitulation has always struck me as one of the most perfectly timed moments in all of Beethoven.

7/4: The sheer mania of the ending.

8/2: Any number of droll touches throughout.

8/4: The moment in the coda where that insistent unison C# is finally taken as the dominant of F# minor, following which only a few measures later the brass and drums forcefully bring the tonality back to F.

8/4: The octave passage for bassoons and timpani.

9/2: The solo octaves for timpani, when the overall rhythmic pattern changes from 4-bar to 3-bar phrases.

9/2: The start of the trio, where a single trombone note is heard (unfortunately this is obscured in many recordings; Mackerras gets it right).

9/3: The weird and beautiful horn solos, which could have sounded dreadfully out of tune in 1824 unless they were played on an early piston horn, or by a very able player on a natural horn. The beautifully varied violin figurations when the variations really get underway.

[Valentino]

Many good ones here. Here's some of mine:

The Alla Breve surprise in the Eroica 3rd mvt.

That flute getting the rhythm going in the 7th 1st mvt. And what a wonderful way to find the main (?) key!

The start of the march section in the 9th finale.

The blast starting up the main theme of the 4th 1st mvt.

[BachQ]

The d minor climaxes in the first movement of the Ninth, and the d minor timpani blasts in the scherzo of the Ninth .......

[hornteacher]

The d minor climaxes in the first movement

Hey it happens to all of us sometimes.......