The Contrast of Two Symphonies

Classical music provides its listeners with a diverse, complex, and united sound that is

created by the most talented of artists. Not only are we lucky enough to have the actual pieces of

literature that renowned masterpieces such as Beethoven's 9th Symphony were written on; but

we are also lucky enough to have gifted musicians and conductors that recreate the sound as if

they were the ones who originally wrote the pieces themselves. Furthermore, it is a privilege to

be able to attend a symphony and watch these musicians go to work as their conductor guides

them through each piece with a unique energy that can only run through them self. Although I

have only attended one symphony, which was one that was played in San Francisco a few years

ago, I can still recall some important aspects of it. Since I only have that vivid memory of seeing

a symphony I will also incorporate one online that I found to be interesting. The piece that I will

take a closer look at and elaborate on is Beethoven's 4th Symphony in B flat major Opus 60

conducted by Herbert Von Karajan, and compare it to Haydn’s 88th Symphony in G Major as

conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

Regardless of whether or not a piece was written for the sake of making money because it

is a profession, or if it is written for the simple joy of creating music, the aspects of that piece are

an art form. In Beethoven's Op. 60 the sound that is emitted through the string and wind

instruments are the main focus throughout the entire piece. Karajan conducts a symphony that

consists of violins, violas, cellos, flutes, bassoons, clarinets, and timpani. The first movement of

the piece is an Adagio and throughout it I noticed that a lot of it is buildup. The exposition is

really dark and the primary instruments are the strings and the flutes. While the flutes provide a

backup sound and play beautiful sustained notes, the string instruments compliment its sound

with a nice melody. Eventually, the song goes from quiet and mysterious to loud and exciting,
but in a way that isn't quite as dark anymore. At this point the strings and wind instruments are

working together with the timpani and the song gets faster and then dies down and then picks up

again. While this piece has a lot of different sounds going on simultaneously a piece like Franz

Joseph Haydn's 88th Symphony in G Major has a lot going on but the sound is in unison. For

example, Beethoven's 4th opens up with dark string sounds and a dark, sustained flute. Haydn on

the other hand starts off his piece with a single idea that is played together by all the instruments

and is much louder. One thing that caught my attention about Haydn's symphony was that in the

development the flute can be heard playing pleasing and sustained notes that compliment what

the rest of the symphony is doing just like in Beethoven's 4th. What's really cool about Haydn's

88th is that he puts a lot of focus into the flute. The entire symphony is playing an upbeat melody,

and the flute plays notes that go along with the melody and then sort of branch off in different

directions; or it will be playing an entirely different melody of its own. This actually happens a

lot throughout the piece.

What really fascinates me about the contrast of these two completely different composers isn't

necessarily who they were but what they accomplished in their music. I believe Haydn to be the

more experienced composer, no doubt, but Beethoven seemed to be a bit more experimental and

kind of reminds me of postmodern artists that we see today even though they both lived in a

completely different time than our own. Beethoven seemed to defy the norms of music in his

time which is probably the core reason as to why we remember him to this day. In Haydn's 88th

Symphony he gives the flute solo sections, where as Beethoven seems to give the strings,

bassoons, clarinets, and the flutes solos.

Another interesting contrast is that of the two different conductors for the pieces. It’s

incredible to watch Karajan conduct his entire symphony with his eyes closed and be so accurate

in his movements. While something like Beethoven’s 4th could easily put me to sleep if I had my
eyes closed long enough, Karajan maintains a constant flow of energy that helps the band with

the direction of the music. On the contrary, Bernstein keeps his eyes open almost the entire time

and actually uses them to help direct the band. At times he won’t even move but will strictly use

facial expressions to help direct the band. As one part of the piece will give him the appearance

of a very content elderly man, another part will give him a more intense look as if he’s

concentrating extremely hard to cast a spell.

Haydn finished this symphony in 1787 and at this point in his life he was still working for

the Esterhazy's under Nikolaus. Beethoven, evidently, had much more freedom with writing his

compositions. In 1807 Beethoven's 4th premiered at the home of Prince Franz Joseph von

Lobkowitz, and the work was actually dedicated to Count Franz von Oppersdorff who was a

relative of Beethoven's current patron Lichnowsky.

The atmosphere of a concert, no matter who the artist is that's playing, is a lot different than that

of the experience one gets out of a recording. In fact, when I saw that symphony in San

Francisco, I recall looking more at what was going on in the environment around me than

anything else. The room was huge and probably fit a few thousand people in it easily. What I

find really interesting is how I perceived the concert then, and how I believe I would look at it

now. Back then I wasn't very fond of classical music but I was still amazed at what was being

played as I could actually relate to some of the pieces (I remember the Star Wars theme was one

of them). It was the room that got my attention more than anything else. The most interesting

thing to me at the time was the giant pipes on the wall behind the band that instantly reminded

me of an organ. There was a lot of excitement in the audience as well. While everyone was

packing in and taking their seats the hall was filled with thousands of different conversations.

However, once the musicians took their places and the conductor came out, the audience was

completely attentive and it remained so throughout the entire concert. I don't imagine that it
would be any different for most other concert. It's probably the fact that as oppose to being

supplied with energy from amplifiers and exciting bands, the audience is provided an energy that

the symphony is in complete control over. I noticed the same behavior in the half hour video I

watched of Beethoven's 4th. Most of the time I didn't even realize the audience was there but the

sound that came out of the instruments and the energy of the conductor provided me with a

whole new perspective on this music. What I realized is that these musicians are not the ones that

could make a mistake on their instrument and no one would hear or even pay attention because

the band looks and acts so cool. These musicians are there to be precise so that they can truly

respect the work of their inspiration.