Sorry, I have to cancel tonight’s silent film show due to computer issues. My laptop refuses to connect to the Internet, even though my other devices have no problem.
Spohr’s Fifth Symphony
Louis Spohr, like Beethoven, wrote nine symphonies. (Actually, he wrote a tenth but was dissatisfied with it and withdrew it; it’s heard occasionally.) As with Beethoven, his Fifth is a stormy work in C minor. It’s my favorite of his symphonies.
Is this symphony really in C minor? The first movement begins and ends in C major, and the symphony ends in that key. The slow introduction presents a lyrical theme that doesn’t suggest any storms at first. This is what I’ll call the “peace” theme, conveying a message of calm against a sea of troubles. In the seventeenth measure, staccato triplets intrude, the mode becomes minor, and the tempo accelerates. At the start of the Allegro, the key signature becomes C minor, and the conflict is fully underway. The first theme is full of tension; the second is in E-flat major but is very hesitant.
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