Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony & Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique

Throughout the course of history there have been many distinct musical periods. Evolving out of some of these timeframes came many musical geniuses such as Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Schubert, Handel, Berlioz, and Beethoven. Each artist carried with them their own sense of style when creating their music. These decisions were a reflection of the musical period in which they were categorized. The two works I chose to analyze in this paper are: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5; first movement, and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique; fourth movement. Each falls under the category of either the Classical Period (Beethoven) or the Romantic Period (Berlioz.)
It is debated whether or not Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is the most memorable musical phrase of all time. I chose the first movement because this is where the rhythmic idea of the three short notes followed by the long note is introduced. This particular part in the sympho...