A Comparison of Haydns Symphony No 95 With Beethovens...

A Comparison of Haydns Symphony No. 95 with Beethovens Symphony No. 5 Introduction As noted by Robert Hughes, Beethoven was not only the embodiment of all that was before him, but also of that which was yet to come (Hughes 486). The truth of this may be seen by comparing Beethovens 5th Symphony in C Minor to Haydn, the father of Symphony, and his 95th in C Minor. While Haydns symphony is both playful and dramatic, Beethovens symphony is grander both in terms of scale and vision. He expands the size of the orchestra to incorporate the sounds swirling around, underlying, and depicting the arrival of Fate in a rhythm-driven, thematic symphony that takes Haydns form and runs with it as though to the top of a mountain peak. This paper will analyze the symphonies by movement, according to form, size, structure, tonalities, melodies, orchestral sound and overall mood and effect. 1st Movement Both Haydns and Beethovens first movements are composed in sonata form, with an exposition stated in the opening that is then developed and recapitulated. The size of Haydns opening movement is somewhat smaller than Beethovens, whose opening exposition itself seems larger than life. Haydns first movement is roughly six minutes long, and the length of Beethovens first movement only exceeds Haydns by about a minute and a half to two minutes. Beethoven does not introduce too many structural changes to the traditional sonata form, which he learned from Haydn, in the first