Beethoven Coriolan Utah Symphony Analysis

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I had never been to the Utah symphony or Abravanel hall for that matter so after learning that listening reports were going to be a part of this class I was very excited to have the excuse to go. Coming from Seattle I wasn’t expecting too much out of the Utah symphony solely on the fact that Utah isn’t as major of a city as Seattle and therefor would have less impressive performers. I found myself very wrong once the concert started. I was blown away hearing that the symphony was attempting all of Beethoven’s symphonies and the rehearsal schedule that they had to go through to be ready and was even more blown away with the opening movement of the Star Spangled Banner which I discovered is a tradition for them to preform standing up at the opening …show more content…

4 a little. Knowing that Coriolan was written for a play based off of the life of Coriolanus the Roman leader I was expected a much more severe performance if that makes sense. The song was much calmer and beautiful than I expected. The C minor key that it was written in did give some of the expected theme of the story but I guess I will have to see the play by Heinrich Joseph to find out …show more content…

With one of the most famous and simplest beginnings in all of classical music the four note motif is arguably the line that Beethoven is most famous for. It was written in 1804 but not finished until 1808 and contains the major themes of the classical style but also introduces many themes that become essential in the romantic period. In those four years between he was very busy writing his fourth and sixth symphonies, Piano Concerto No. 4, three other major piano sonatas and his violin concerto in D. There is a quote by Beethoven from his notes that says “begins in my head the working out in breadth height and depth. Since I am aware of what I want the fundamental idea never leaves me it mounts it grows I see before my mind the single picture in its whole extent as if in a single grasp” which plays into the idea of many scholars that Beethoven wrote the full four movement, 35 minute symphony based off of those four momentous notes. Those four notes have influenced symphonies in ways that even those who have dedicated their lives to studying music can’t