Features of Beethoven's Symphonies Quiz

Answer: Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral")

Near the end of the slow movement of the "Pastoral" symphony is a section where the flute imitates a nightingale, the oboe a quail, and the clarinet a cuckoo. The movement has the title "Scene at the Brook."

Answer: Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica")

The last movement of Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony is structured as a theme and variations. At first we hear just its bass line. Two variations on it follow before the theme proper is played.

Answer: Symphony No. 7

As the introduction of the Seventh Symphony's first movement comes to its end, the instruments pass the note E back and forth, gradually building it up the 6/8 rhythm that will dominate the movement's main body. The melody of the slow movement also starts with repetitions of the note E.

Answer: Symphony No. 1

From the very beginning, Beethoven made sure his symphonies wouldn't be ordinary. The Symphony No. 1 is in C Major, but the introduction starts with a cadence in F, then hints at A Minor and G before reaching the key of C.

The Fourth Symphony is in B Flat Major, but much of the introduction is in B Flat Minor. That's not the same thing, though; there are precedents in earlier classical symphonies, such as Haydn's Symphony No. 104.

Answer: Symphony No. 8

The second movement of the Eighth Symphony, marked "Allegretto scherzando," features a steady stream of staccato sixteenth notes like a metronome's beat. Beethoven wrote a canon on the same tune with words in praise of Maelzel, the inventor of the metronome, proving the allusion was intentional.

Answer: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral")

The third movement of Beethoven's Ninth is one of his most soothing, beautiful slow movements. He didn't think it was enough, though. The fourth movement shatters the mood with a burst of pain or rage. The orchestra recalls and rejects the music from the first three movements, and only human voices singing the "Ode to Joy" provide a resolution.

Answer: Symphony No. 5

The third movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony concludes with a mysterious crescendo that leads into the blazing finale. Just before the recapitulation of the main theme, a bit of the third movement is played again.

The Ninth Symphony also recalls the previous movements in the finale, but not in the same way structurally.

Answer: Symphony No. 2

The symphonies of Haydn and Mozart usually had a minuet for the third movement. Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 included a really fast minuet, but it was still called a minuet. The Second Symphony was the first symphony by any major composer of the Classical era to have a lively third movement and label it a "Scherzo" or "joke."

Answer: Symphony No. 4

The slow movement of the Fourth Symphony features a lyrical melody against an almost thematic dotted motif. Just before the final cadence, the tympani play this motif as a solo.

Answer: Wellington's Victory

I'm sorry, Beethoven's "Wellington's Victory" doesn't belong in the same company as his symphonies, but it's fun if you don't take it seriously. It represents the Battle of Vittoria in music, with the popular song "Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre" representing the French side and "Rule Britannia" the English. English-speaking audiences know the French tune as "For he's a jolly good fellow" or "The bear went over the mountain," which does nothing to help us take it seriously.

The work concludes with a lively treatment of "God Save the King." Recorded performances often use muskets and cannon where Beethoven indicated ratchets and bass drums for sound effects.