Rhetorical Analysis of Music

p Pg .1 Rhetorical Analysis of Music

I 've chosen two pieces of music from the romantic period . Beethoven (1770-

1837 ) Overture to Egmont and Symphony No 3 . in e-flat Major Op . 55 . Both originate in

the Romantic Period , which was a time when music seemed very shocking when it is

compared to idyllic chords , harmonies , meter and disciplined structure of Classical

Neo /classical music . The dynamic changes and unconventional chords brought out the

raw emotion in the romantic music was too much for some classical music

die-hards to

take . Moreover , romantic music was to Neo-classical music as early as 90 's grunge rock

was to 80 's popular music Beethoven was a composer who began the romantic Era . He was an

accomplished pianist at any very early age , winning audiences over with his passion and

deep expression than with his technical skills . This passion was a part of his numerous

compositions , and has always been his trademark . His genius lies in his music 's

emotional power , a genius that is lifted by his extraordinary talent to create so many

elaborations and complex music . This is clearly shown by his use of four-note musical

idea which is found in his most famous work , Symphony no . 5

The overture to Egmont is an excellent example of Beethoven 's passion . The

piece consists of repeated phrases , the deep minor undertones , and the expressive counter

melodies all woven together to demonstrate Beethoven 's romantic fever Other than a

change from ? to common time the meter remains constant throughout most of

Beethoven 's piece . However , Beethoven leaves the beginning and meter in transition

p Pg .2

open to the conductor 's interpretation . This value of individual ideas and preferences is

characteristic to Beethoven 's romantic spirit

The instrumental of the piece is mostly full strings woodwinds , and brass

strings vs . winds . There a few collective statements especially in the introduction and

coda , however there is mostly a call /response feeling to it . The melody and harmony

hands off between the strings and winds . One finds the melody , the other tends to the

have the harmony and sometimes the countermelody . The texture of this piece is

beautiful as Beethoven expertly changes quickly from a thin orchestra to a full blown

orchestra instantly . The changing places so often in the music creates the woven feel in

this piece

The form in the introduction is (mostly miner ) A statement (minor , the bridge (major ) Recapitulation , coda (major . My personal reaction to this piece is I really love

this beautiful piece . There 's something very deep in this piece of music that speaks to

the soul of the listener . It goes from deep sadness and resignation to

a very small amount of time

Beethoven 's third symphony was written during the years of 1803 and 1804 . At

its time it was the longest symphony ever written . It consists of 4 movements , allegro

Allegro con brio , 690 degrees , Sonata , eb major . It is interesting to note the key structure

of the piece...