Some symphonies contain more themes, plots and sub-plots than a cheap spy novel. Only the most devoted fan can comprehend the minute to minute dramatic unfoldings of some Romantic symphonies. But the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is based on a single dominating mood from beginning to end. That mood is embodied in the opening notes which seem to say (as some critics have suggested): "Thus Fate knocks at the door."
Beethoven's initial sketches for the Fifth Symphony actually predate his Third Symphony, a period during which he met cruel fate in the form of his increasing deafness. The completed fifth possesses, more than any other symphony, a sense of fatefulness, of inevitability, and logical conclusion that result from his shaping of a few well-handled themes.
Follow what happens to the main theme: da-da-da-DA. Listen to how it is shaped, recycled, and passed about among the instruments. And how about the relaxed second theme; can you hear how it transforms into the same fatefully insistent mood as the first theme? The lesson Beethoven passes on to symphony builders is this: keep it simple. With a handful of simple, straightforward ideas you can erect a monument.
