How It's Used

“I wish I could interest the Environmental Protection Agency in looking into the symphony managers and conductors — almost all of them — who have so mercilessly exploited the mighty Beethoven Fifth and Ninth Symphonies, reducing them to pop-culture clichés and deadening their amazing qualities to the public ear.”

—Bernard Holland, “How to Kill Orchestras,” The New York Times, 29 Jun 03.

"The deep drawback of 'Taking Sides' is that it forgets to be interested in music. It is swayed by the idea of music as a calling, and as a tool of civilization, but not by the surges of the stuff itself. When a director uses the beginning of Beethoven’s Fifth three times in one picture, you know that he has decided to play it safe."

—Anthony Lane, "Background Music: István Szabó’s 'Taking Sides,'" The New Yorker, September 8, 2003.

"After these two works were performed, it was somehow exactly the moment to hear Beethoven’s Fifth. Mr. Salonen and his players were not striving for a performance to enter the annals of immortal Beethoven playing. Rather, here were adventurous musicians eager to bring freshness and enthusiasm to a repertory staple. And what a relief this well-played, vigorous and lucid performance was."

—Anthony Tommasini, "Moving On, a Music Director Leaves an Imprint, and a New Hall," The New York Times, April 10, 2009.

Links

Related on eAlmanac
The Big Five Orchestras
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
Classical.net biography of Ludwig van Beethoven