Interpretation of Culture Expression Essay
Review of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
The Austrian composer Ludwig von Beethoven is famous for his symphonies. The most well-known are his 5th and 9th symphonies. Read the part of a review of the 9th symphony, which you will find below, taken from the program notes by Phillip Huscher.[1] In this review, Huscher uses several approaches, several ways to talk about and interpret Beethoven’s symphony. Read the text and analyze what approaches to music he has used.
Structure your answer as follows:
Quote from the text: “…”.
- Identify the type of approach this excerpt aligns with. E.g. This quote fits the intrinsic meaning/sociological approach/emotional approach… etc.
- Explanation / arguments: explain briefly why the quoted fragment fits the specified approach of music.
- Some quotes might tie in with the same approach. In that case, just choose the most illustrative quote.
Indication of the number of words to use for this question: 300 to 500 (but feel free to write more!).
In case you want to listen to Beethoven’s 9th, I recommend Leonard Bernstein’s performance:
The Berlin Celebration Concert – Beethoven, Symphony No 9 Bernstein 1989 (Links to an external site.)