Beethoven's 5th

Enjoyed a rather hectic night out at Carnegie hall on Wednesday. Hectic, because we had to rush from a meeting on Staten Island, count on the ferry to be precisely on time (it was a couple of minutes late), catch two different trains, and then run from the 55th Street exit (poor planning) of the R Train to the front door of Carnegie Hall on 57th Street. To top it off, Karen misplaced her ticket, so we had to ask for another one (they couldn't have been nicer about this) before climbing ALL of the countless steep steps leading to the uppermost section in this most magnificent of theatres. If I were prone to nosebleeds, I would have been leaking all over my grey suit, but fortunately my schnozz cooperated. Not only that, so did the Orchestra. As we slid, or in this case, struggled into our seats (restricted legroom), the distinguished conductor Daniel Barenboim appeared, and the first of four Carnegie Hall Concerts featuring all of Beethoven's 9 symphonies began with the energizing notes from the first movement of his first symphony.

Perhaps you are wondering why the uppermost section and why the restricted legroom (Thursday we were treated to an obstructed view)? Because such tickets are cheap and because both Karen and I have decided that hearing a symphony isn't so much about seeing the muscians play as it is about hearing the sound a great symphony can produce. And take our word for it; it was a great sound. Furthermore, it is Beethoven, and for us there just isn't anything that compares symphonically to the great works of this greatest of all composers (outrageous to assert this but couldn't help myself).

Wednesday night we heard the 1st, the 8th, and the 5th symphonies. For my money, the 1st is better than the 8th, though Karen's preferences are exactly the reverse. But it's the 5th I want to talk about for a moment. And not so much that grand opening - da, da, da, daaaaa - that some have likened to fate knocking on the door - but the utterly exhilarating 4th and final movement that seems to embrace life so triumphantly, boldly turning away any further thoughts of death. Indeed, it is Beethoven's love affair with life, his unbridled passion for engagement with the world, in spite of all his troubles and suffering, that I want to emphasize.

Of course, I'm no musician. I have no musical training, no profound insights into how great music weaves its unique spell. But I do like to listen. And when I listen to Beethoven I hear someone struggling with titanic emotions who uses music to penetrate the mysteries of his own life and how that life relates to others, both near and distant, far less talented than he to be sure, but with the same yearning for purpose, significance, and even transcendence.

The late movement of the 5th symphony strikes me as a reflection of Beethoven's own aspirations for transcendence, for something that takes us beyond the pettiness and absurdities of everyday life and into a realm of pure being and unbreakable human connection. This Beethoven of the last movement of the 5th symphony is on the verge of finding a happiness, a sense of well being that is wise, both about the things that matter and the things that merely waste our time and drain our energy.

From a musical point of view, this is all rather absurd. The techniques and strategies and artistic risks that make such musical possible are the proper subject for a discussion of someone as incomparable as Beethoven. But I guess all I can say is how I feel and what I take from his music. And for me, the last movement of the 5th symphony, like the final movements of the 7th and the 9th, but in a manner that is perhaps less bombastic than these others, has a power to touch the human spirit and the human heart that gives me hope and fills me with irresistible joy.