Beethoven- Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 36 Part III
We continue our discussion of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major with the third movement.
III. Scherzo
The third movement was traditionally a minuet and trio- a stately dance to be performed in court. Beethoven’s minuet is hardly danceable.
A 3-note rising motive is played by a different section in the orchestra at a different dynamic. The disconnected feeling one gets is almost like a ball bouncing around, and this “bouncing” theme is repeated. Theme two (0:46) is slightly more “normal” in the winds, but still has large jumps. Theme one returns followed by another iteration of theme two. The climax of theme two ends the scherzo and brings us to the beginning of the trio (1:43).
The trio is a pastoral melody composed of rising 3-note and falling 4-note motives. The oboes and bassoons begin with theme three, which is interrupted by a heavy, crude trill (1:43). A loud tutti chord (2:02) precedes the return of theme three which is immediately repeated. The entire movement is then repeated without the repetitions of individual sections.
Theme three of the scherzo is also found in Beethoven’s 9th; in the trio section of the 9th’s scherzo there are winds playing over a descending bassoon, which mirrors the trio in the 2nd symphony that has winds playing over descending strings. It also is a hint at the “Ode to Joy” theme, as it uses the same notes.
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This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage.
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