What is the overall meaning of the piece?

The composer's name is Ludwig Van Beethoven and the piece is called ‘The fifth
symphony’. It took him 4 years to make this piece and is regarded as one of the best
and most revolutionary symphonies to exist (he started it in 1804 and finished it in
1808). He composed many pieces during those four years but they all pale in
comparison to the fifth symphony. The piece symbolises triumph itself. Beethoven
wrote the composition amidst war and revolution, it’s a story of despair that’s filled
with hope, optimism and triumph. The piece was written while Beethoven was going
through a lot in life. The overall meaning of the piece is portrayed by the clever ways
he used musical composition techniques.

What do each of the musical ideas express in the musical composition?

Ans: The composition keeps getting louder to show the feelings of the composer
transforming from calm and hopeful to frustrated and angry. We can see that the
piece transforms from joyful to frustrated because the dynamics change range from
piano to fortississimo. The notes and tempo -which is allegro- helps understand the
mood of the composition. The bars 18 - 35 sound very calm and composed ( no pun
intended) but after that the bars 36 to 57 sound like the mood is anger and
frustration. Anger was used in the end of this composition to vent out the composer’s
sorrows. But, along with anger, there is a certain feeling of triumph and sounds very
majestic. The triumphant sound makes it seem like ego was also a big reason for the
piece being made.

What was happening in the composer's life that affected the composer's
composition?

Beethoven started writing the fifth symphony in 1804 and finished it in 1808 (four
years!). In 1796 and at the age of 26, his hearing started deteriorating. First the high
notes fell silent and in 1802, his hearing got to the point where he contemplated
suicide. The only reason he didn’t end his life was because of his love for music. He
was also a supporter of the French Revolution and loved the principles of freedom
and equality. Having once admired Napoleon as the apotheosis of revolutionary
principles, the composer, true to his republican beliefs, later reviled him for sacrificing
them to his own ambition. He had to attach a rod to his piano and clenchi it in his
teeth to receive perception of the sound when vibrations transfer from the piano to
his jaw.
Dotsey, Calvin. “Beethoven’s Fifth: The World’s Most Famous Symphony.” Houston
Symphony, 9 July 2018,
houstonsymphony.org/beethoven-5-famous-symphony/#:~:text=Beethoven’s%20Fi
fth%20is%20about%20triumph,symbolic%20of%20so%20many%20things.