Switched on Pop - THE 5TH — MOVEMENT II, From Struggle to Victory

Episode Date: September 11, 2020

In the first movement of his famous symphony, Beethoven sets up a battle between hope and despair. The dark side of that spectrum is represented by the anguished opening notes of the first movement: DUN DUN DUNNN. Over the course of the next three movements, Beethoven keeps trying to overcome his dark fate with bright major melodies, and keeps getting defeated. With each high and low, we begin to understand that this battle isn't just about major and minor keys, it's about the will to live in the face of adversity. How do you perform such an emotional rollercoaster? We talk to the members of the New York Philharmonic about what it's like to sound a symphony whose stakes are life and death. Jaap van Zweden, Conductor Leelanee Sterrett, Horn Kyle Zerna, Percussion Frank Huang, Violin Anthony McGill, Clarinet Sherry Sylar, Oboe Recording of The New York Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Jaap van Zweden used by permission from Decca Gold. Hear new episodes of our four-part miniseries The 5th every Tuesday and Friday starting September 8th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It's free for iOS users. Charlie, when we ended the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, our head was spinning. We had heard this battle between different melodies and different characters. We had these dark, stormy, minor themes, kind of pitted against these light major themes, right? Dramatic Joe! And... Little Frat, And by the end of the piece, that dark minor theme had prevailed.

Right. But there's still three movements to go. This story is far from over. There's a reason that Beethoven broke all the rules in the first movement. He's trying to do something new to tell a single story over the course of this entire symphony. Those two musical characters from the first movement, they're battling over Beethoven's soul. And he's teaching us how to listen to this piece. Every time you hear a dark minor melody, it represents loss and despair.

And every time you hear a bright major melody, it represents hope and possibility. So the stakes are high. We're on the edge of our seat. Who will win? Because the answer isn't just about music. For Beethoven, these melodies act as metaphors for life and death. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan And I'm songwriter Charlie Harding

And this is the fifth Movement 2 All right Charlie We just promised a lot here right Like this battle between major and minor Life and Death But actually the first thing that happens At the start of Movement 2

is that Beethoven Changes the channel Well at least that's how Conductor Yop von Svaden puts it It's like you are watching television you remember when we were young

I watched television and I want to go to another channel and I walk to the television and I had to turn this thing and then you go to another channel this is exactly what happens with Beethoven first movement and second movement

so you go to the television you turn this completely different program continuing YOP's analogy here it's like movement one was having the channel set to professional wrestling. And transition to movement two is like changing the channel and getting Bob Ross's the joy of painting.

Let's have some water in this painting. I love water. And it's very easy to paint in this style. And you should not be remembered of what happened before. It should be an huge opposite. Charlie, it seems like we're in a new world here, that we've left all that stormy drama of the first movement. behind. We're traversing through Green Hills. It's very pastoral.

Totally. This lovely melody. But even though we've changed the channel and entered this placid new world in the second movement, Beethoven is still struggling between hope and despair, right? That battle from the first movement isn't over. The drama between minor and major continues and I'll let the Philharmonics horn player Leleney stare at narrate just how Beethoven does it. It's sort of as like the storm clouds come in and the music sort of shifts from major into more minor tonalities. The little melody becomes fragmented, sort of like questioning or tentative. And then kind of just when you think it's all going to turn sour. The brass and percussion like come crashing in with this almost aggressively major tune and it's like bombastic. It's this big fanfare.

It's almost kind of comical the way in which the mood just like suddenly shifts. You have ascended to the mountain top, the sun is shining, and all your friends are there. And you're having a party and you're just like basking in the sea major glow. And then just as quickly as you have this triumphant moment, the story. storm cloud start rolling back in. This pattern sort of repeats throughout this movement where you have the dance tune variations on that with this more fanfare, brass theme that keeps kind of crashing the party in a way. What happened to the brass theme?

What happened to our party? We were celebrating. We were top of the mountain. We were having a great time. What's going on? I know. It's Beethoven. He's toying with us.

He's continuing this drama from the first movement, this battle between C-miners. in C major. And in this movement, C major is represented by Leleney and her horn theme. But every time she plays it, it gets like swatted away. And she does it three times. She comes in with this horn theme. And then it dies away. And she comes in again, C major, horn theme, mountain, party, friends.

And then it dies away. In the first movement, we had these two characters battling back and forth. And in the second movement, that drama continued, right? Even though we changed the channel into this new musical world, still, Lelandis C major hornpart represents the possibility of hope and transformation. But just like in the first movement, she doesn't prevail, right? Minor wins out. So now with the third movement on deck, we're waiting to see what happens. How is this story going to continue?

And we get an answer at the very start of the third movement. Once again, we've changed the channel to a new musical world. And once again, despairing minor chords take over. Now, Lelene was kind of the hero, the C major hero in Movement 2. But she's about to have to switch it up because in Movement 3, she's the C minor villain. We get to the third movement, and the very first thing that happens is this sort of like, Very mysterious, very sneaky, shrouded and missed type of thing from the low strings. You sort of feel it on stage.

It's this like rumble of all those low vibrations happening around you. I love getting to imagine being in the perspective of the performer. The stage feels like it's actually alive. It's resonating. You can feel what is happening all around you. And there is something trembling right here. Right. And at this point, Lelandi,

is getting ready to play the dark minor bad guy. As a horn player, the first thing you see on your page coming up is you've got double forte, which basically is as loud as Beethoven ever wrote. And you've got just this bap, bap, bha. Wait a minute. That's the same rhythm from the first movement. Right. Short, short, short, short, short, short, short, long.

It's such a great moment of surprise. And also, of course, it's hearkening back to, the first motive of the piece. And you can feel the emotion that we're kind of back to the, like, the angry Beethoven from that stereotypical photo that everybody knows where he's sort of scowling. Yeah, this is a dark moment here in Movement 3. It's like the Empire strikes back. Now, as always seems to happen in the different movements of the symphony,

halfway through Beethoven writes a C major section that tries to, overcome the minor melodies that we've been hearing so far. This guy just can't make up his mind. Who is going to win? Here's that hopeful C major melody starting in the low strings. And then it gets passed higher and higher. And then it restarts. Pass.

Pass. Completely circled us. It's like a game of hot potato. You're passing this melody from instrument to instrument. And I talked to the violinist, Frank Huang, about this moment. Like what it's like to be so attuned to what everyone in the orchestra is doing. It's kind of the fun in orchestra. It's always a moving organism.

Flexibility and awareness are key, I think. Yeah, you had to sort of made the comparison of like an Olympic athlete. Here you can see that this is like this is a team sport. You have to be so tuned in at any given moment. Like, where is the play? What's happening? Am I picking it up next? Who am I supporting?

Totally. But as it's so often the case with the symphony, just when you have this moment of like coordination and you're all playing the C major melody, the victory is short-lived. Beethoven's inner battle is still raging. C minor takes control once again and we feel this sense of despair and resignation settle in once more. So over three movements, we've heard this battle between minor key despair and major key hope. And at the end of each movement, the dark minor melodies won out. So at the end of this third movement, there's a lot of suspense. How is this symphony going to end?

Will the final movement be a major victory or a minor defeat? And Beethoven really ratchets up the tension of this final reveal with a long, slow build. And the person holding the orchestra together at this point is the timponist. Kyle Zerner. Yeah, timpony, you probably know it by its other name, kettle drums. It's usually two or four big drums that are in the back. And what's cool about them is not only are they drums, but you can tune them as well. And something interesting about Kyle is that in addition to being the timpani player for the Phil, he's also a DJ.

I love that. And in this moment, he said he's keeping the beat, but he's also. working the faders for the whole orchestra. In a way you're kind of like the DJ, you're kind of transitioning from the third movement to the fourth movement, making sure that you're beat matching just perfectly and that you're coming in right on time and kind of leading the rest of the orchestra with you. What's waiting for us on the other side of this third movement? Is the fourth and final movement going to be in C minor or C major?

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Your business will be a super-exit to Shopify. Empecia to a period of per year for a euro at me in Shopify.es bar records. Charlie, that was cruel. We left you hanging whether this Fourth and final movement would end in major or minor after three movements of battle. How will the symphony end? That was,

da, da, duh. I won't deny you any longer. Triumph. It's party time. C major at last has won the day. Here you can finally get like the transformation of that original anguish, dramatic Joe. Here you get a similar sort of. rhythmic pattern.

Stand did change just a little bit, but all in major tonalities. Yes. Clearly triumphant. Yes. They've transformed into a new, no longer dramatic Joe. Triumphant Joe. When I talked to the members of the Philharmonic about this fourth movement finale, the sense of relief that they would describe was palpable. This kind of part, you know, it's usually marked.

Tutti. You know, it's like everyone, everyone together. And it's like this unifying moment and the piece where we've done all of these kind of separate things, variations on little themes. And then when you come together in a passage like that, it's like all the chorus starts singing, you know. It really is such a satisfying payoff when you get to that moment. You mentioned that epically long crescendo and you've gone through this turmoil of the third movement and then you get to It's a very, very, very long buildup, and it all culminates in this moment. It's very euphoric. Like everyone's kind of on a, on some kind of high, you know.

When you reach the fourth movement, I guess I would have to say that C major chord makes my heart sing. And I'm not racing so much anymore as I am just full of joy. That's the kind of, I think that's the moment where you realize, you can realize in a performance, how great the piece is. It's singing and it's vibrant and it gives you hope, you know, almost like there's hope for the future in those notes. Honestly, I love this because hope for the future is something that is particularly resonant right now. Right. And I don't know about you, but listening to those musicians describe getting to the final moment of this piece, I just feel like the sense of exhaustion and relief.

I feel like I've been playing violin or horn or clarinet for, you know, 45 minutes and I'm just like, ah, finally. Celebration. Yeah. But Charlie, I'm so sorry to have to say this, but there's going to be one last gasp of dark minor in this piece. This is like the last 10 minutes of the movie where at the end you're like, oh, okay, we've made it to the end. But like actually the villain is still alive. They're going to come in last minute and try to jump right in. stick their hand like out of the water and grab your ankle or something.

Right, right. Yes, exactly. There's one more appearance of minor. See, we've heard this dark minor theme before. We heard it in the third movement. And it even reaches back to the very beginning of the piece with that short, short, short, long rhythm. And one of the musicians tasked with the kind of unlucky role of playing this final monster, it's clarinetist. Anthony McGill.

Yeah, that's a interesting spot. What I'll share with you is that it's notoriously kind of difficult to play that part. The fear factor is what I'm usually thinking about when I'm playing it. This is at a delicate point in the piece, and it's supposed to be really soft. If you try to play it too soft, it doesn't come out. And that happens, too, in performance, where literally you can go, And it's supposed to be Bump, bum, bum.

Can you imagine you're the final boss, sort of, in this Beethoven symphony and like all eyes are on you? Oh, it just, my heart is pounding, just thinking about it. But we've all seen this movie. We know how it's going to end. The hero will come out triumphant. Right. See Major returns.

Playing over him. So loud. Totally, yeah. At this point, it's like Beethoven. is taking a victory lap. And the way the Philharmonics horn player, Leleney Sterrett describes it, is like, he's really enjoying this.

He's really going to take his time. You know, this piece ends for about, I don't know, five minutes. It seems like, you know, it's like, you think it's almost over, and the Coda just keeps going and going and going. Beethoven was seeing how long he could keep you on the hook before he ended the piece.

Kind of like he had done at the end of the first movement And you're just like, Here's the end. No? Really? Where are we going? Yes, except he milks it for even longer. It's like Lelandie says it just keeps going,

Going, going, and going, and going and gone. We made it. We made it through. We made it. After four movements of C minor and C major, battling it out, this C major victory finally wins the day. It's this great musical experience, but it's also something more.

It's something you can read deeper into, something about Beethoven's own life. Because, Charlie, what's the one thing we all know about Beethoven? He was very grumpy. What else do we know? He is famous for having lost his hearing while making his most profound works. You know, as a musician, I can imagine. and how devastating that loss would feel. And we know that right before Beethoven composed this Fifth Symphony,

he was contemplating suicide. And we know this because he wrote a letter to his brothers in which he questioned whether he could go on. Here's what he wrote. What a humiliation when one stood beside me and heard a flute in the distance, and I heard nothing. Such incidents brought me to the verge of,

of despair, but little more and I would have put an end to my life. Only art it was that withheld me. It seemed impossible to leave the world until I had produced all that I felt called upon me to produce. And so I endured. When we listened to the major ending of this piece, we're not just listening to a melody, we're listening to a symbol of that endurance, of that resilience, of that decision to pursue life. So you're kind of saying that this whole time where we've had these competing characters, there's no dramatic Joe,

there's no little frown line Henrietta. This is Beethoven's psychology battling it out, trying to figure out, is he going to succumb to this darkness, or is he going to rise triumphant and continue his work and continue his life? Keep inspiring us. That's right.

This is more than just harmony and melody. It makes me think of something the violinist, Frank Huang, told me, about the emotional experience of performing this music. I think the beauty of music, especially a piece like Beethoven's fifth, is that it really has this entire range of the human experience in it. Right. All the highs and lows? It's all in here.

But the fourth movement isn't the end of the story of this symphony. The next chapter is how the meaning of this symphony gets twisted over the next 200 years. How it gets transformed from a symbol of triumph and freedom to a symbol of exclusion, elitism, and gatekeeping, everything you love to hate about classical music today. So how did the major ending of the fifth get so twisted? That's coming next in Movement 3 of the 5th. Huge thanks to Jen Luzzo, Adam Crane, and all of the musicians at the New York Phil Harmonic. Recording of the New York Phil Harmonic performing Beethoven Symphony number five used by permission from Deca Gold.

Switched on Pop is made by Nate Sloan and me, Charlie Harding. We're produced by Megan Lubin and Bridget Armstrong, edited and engineered by Brandon McFarlane, social media by Abby Barr, and illustrations by Iris Gottlieb. Our executive producers, Arnachat Kerwa, and Liz Kelly Nelson, were a member of the Voxp media podcast network. We're posting a bunch of fun stuff about Beethoven on social media at Switched on Pop on both Instagram and Twitter. So follow us there, check it out, engage with the Beethoven world. We'll be releasing movements three and four of the fifth next Tuesday and Friday, so be sure to check them out anywhere you get your podcasts. And until then, thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening.