Beethoven’s Fifth

Four notes instantly recognizable across generations welcome back the much-loved Symphony No. 5 to the Kleinhans stage. The Fifth’s hallmark four-note pattern, or “short-short-short-long,” was a revolutionary concept at the time, creating a rhythm as the subject line instead of a melody, and one that recurs throughout all four movements. The composer laid the groundwork for future Romantic-era symphonies with the musical triumph and conflict resolution of “light over dark,” ending on a note of hope and human resilience. Copland drew Dance Symphony’s rhythmic jazz motifs from his evocative, unpublished vampire ballet about a morbid conjurer who could raise the dead and make them dance. Copland himself described the three movements as “thin,” “songful,” and “violent,” respectively. In his Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven expanded on Mozart’s influence by featuring challenging key changes and bold harmonies in this piece, exemplifying his first compositional era and style.

JoAnn Falletta, conductor

George Li, piano

COPLAND Dance Symphony

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor