THE 5TH
A podcast miniseries explaining Beethoven’s iconic symphony
with The New York Philharmonic
Episodes
I. A Battle Brewing
Over the course of the next three movements, Beethoven keeps trying to overcome his dark fate with bright major melodies, and keeps getting defeated. With each high and low, we begin to understand that this battle isn't just about major and minor keys, it's about the will to live in the face of adversity.
II. From Struggle to Victory
In Movement I we hear how the first four notes of the piece are more than a modern meme, they’re the main character in a drama that will unfold over four movements. A drama between light and dark, hope and despair, life and death.
III. Putting the Classism in Classical Music
The Fifth’s creative rule-breaking requires close listening to fully grasp. Over time, new listening norms crystallized into a set of concert etiquette. Movement III explores how the fifth was misused to generate the strict culture of classical music — and the politics that undergird those norms of behavior.
IV. What Beethoven Would Have Wanted
Commissioning new works, taking them to the streets, reimagining the classical canon, and continuing to perform and listen to the Fifth anew all are part of an effort for classical institutions and audiences to move forward while honoring Beethoven’s legacy — a composer who wanted to break all the rules in pursuit of a better world.
Introducing The 5th
Switched On Pop interviews The New York Philharmonic to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth and completely reconsider his musical legacy. While obviously not a pop act, Beethoven wrote arguably the most memorable hook of all time: dun-dun-dun-duuuuuun. These four notes are embedded in our collective consciousness, but why?
For five years Switched On Pop has made historical connections between great composers and contemporary pop through its “Classical Masters” segments. Expanding that segment into a four path mini-series, THE 5TH will unpack the layered sounds and unexpected histories in the most popular symphony of all time: Beethoven’s 5th.
The series features original recordings and interviews with the orchestra that first premiered the piece in the US back in 1848: The New York Philharmonic. The Philharmonic’s stellar conductor and musicians brings the work’s musical components to life, playing isolated parts and offering their unfiltered commentary on this classical warhorse.
The series reveals how the symphony’s arc from dark to light mirrors Beethoven’s decision to try and come to terms with his encroaching deafness; how the piece’s complexity and intensity helped create the culture of “Classical music” as we know it, and why the famous four-note “dun-dun-dun-duuuuuun” theme has become one of the most famous hooks in music history.
THE 5TH will reveals new ways to hear Beethoven and delight listeners with hidden histories and musical epiphanies, all set to a soundtrack provided by one of the greatest orchestras in the world (by permission from Decca Gold).