full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Hanako Sawada: The secrets of the world's most famous symphony
Unscramble the Blue Letters
The motif’s inventive repetition is a large part of what makes this piece so mbaomlere, but it’s not the only innovation on display. This was the first major orchestral composition to use trombones, and beevehotn also employs a high-pitched piccolo and a low-pitched contrabassoon to give the orchestra a wider range than most classical csitnomooips. etaeggxaerd musical dynamics further heighten the drama. And harmonically, the piece has a clear eoantoiml arc— beginning in a somber C minor and ending in a triumphant C major.
This progression, from ominous unease to majestic resolution, is a testament to Beethoven’s ability to inject raw emotionality into his muisc. He wrote this shpomnyy while battling with hearing loss, and his auignsh can be heard in the composition’s tnhoduuers and reptnieag musical phrases. Beethoven continued to comspoe even after he became completely deaf, producing innovative music until his death in 1827. And the Fifth Symphony’s central motif has citunnoed to resound through the ages. Outside of concert halls, the pceie has become a somybl for suspense, rieaolvten, and triumph. The fate motif sounds out the letter V in Morse code, and during World War II, the Fifth Symphony became a code for victory amongst the Allies. The iconic composition can be found in film sercos, and it’s even been explored through musical reinterpretations and visual art. But whatever the context, Beethoven’s Fifth takes its listeners through a dark world, then guides them into the light.
Open Cloze
The motif’s inventive repetition is a large part of what makes this piece so _________, but it’s not the only innovation on display. This was the first major orchestral composition to use trombones, and _________ also employs a high-pitched piccolo and a low-pitched contrabassoon to give the orchestra a wider range than most classical ____________. ___________ musical dynamics further heighten the drama. And harmonically, the piece has a clear _________ arc— beginning in a somber C minor and ending in a triumphant C major.
This progression, from ominous unease to majestic resolution, is a testament to Beethoven’s ability to inject raw emotionality into his _____. He wrote this ________ while battling with hearing loss, and his _______ can be heard in the composition’s __________ and _________ musical phrases. Beethoven continued to _______ even after he became completely deaf, producing innovative music until his death in 1827. And the Fifth Symphony’s central motif has _________ to resound through the ages. Outside of concert halls, the _____ has become a ______ for suspense, __________, and triumph. The fate motif sounds out the letter V in Morse code, and during World War II, the Fifth Symphony became a code for victory amongst the Allies. The iconic composition can be found in film ______, and it’s even been explored through musical reinterpretations and visual art. But whatever the context, Beethoven’s Fifth takes its listeners through a dark world, then guides them into the light.
Solution
- revelation
- compose
- symbol
- piece
- continued
- compositions
- emotional
- memorable
- exaggerated
- repeating
- anguish
- music
- thunderous
- scores
- symphony
- beethoven
Original Text
The motif’s inventive repetition is a large part of what makes this piece so memorable, but it’s not the only innovation on display. This was the first major orchestral composition to use trombones, and Beethoven also employs a high-pitched piccolo and a low-pitched contrabassoon to give the orchestra a wider range than most classical compositions. Exaggerated musical dynamics further heighten the drama. And harmonically, the piece has a clear emotional arc— beginning in a somber C minor and ending in a triumphant C major.
This progression, from ominous unease to majestic resolution, is a testament to Beethoven’s ability to inject raw emotionality into his music. He wrote this symphony while battling with hearing loss, and his anguish can be heard in the composition’s thunderous and repeating musical phrases. Beethoven continued to compose even after he became completely deaf, producing innovative music until his death in 1827. And the Fifth Symphony’s central motif has continued to resound through the ages. Outside of concert halls, the piece has become a symbol for suspense, revelation, and triumph. The fate motif sounds out the letter V in Morse code, and during World War II, the Fifth Symphony became a code for victory amongst the Allies. The iconic composition can be found in film scores, and it’s even been explored through musical reinterpretations and visual art. But whatever the context, Beethoven’s Fifth takes its listeners through a dark world, then guides them into the light.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
| collocation |
frequency |
| beethoven composed |
2 |
Important Words
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- battling
- beethoven
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- wrote