Overture Magazine: 2016-2017 Season September - October 2016 | Page 55

program notes {
creates a witty, infectious movement
of relentless intensity. And to ratchet
that intensity higher, he introduces the
scherzo theme as a five-part fugue.
The ebullient theme of the trio section
in D Major, led off by oboes and
clarinets, offers a preview of the finale’s
“Ode to Joy” theme, lightly disguised
by a different rhythm.
If the Scherzo is the apotheosis of
rhythm, the succeeding slow movement in B-flat Major is the apotheosis of
melody. Here Beethoven builds a double
variations movement out of two melodies, one slow and noble, the other like a
flowing stream: a musical representation
of a heavenly utopia. The originality and
sheer beauty of Beethoven’s use of the
orchestra here are astonishing, espe