Noctave
The piece
Beethoven composed his Fifth Symphony in C minor, Op. 67, between 1804 and 1808. It was first performed in Vienna on 22 December 1808, in a concert that lasted over four hours, and published the following year. The first movement, Allegro con brio, grows entirely out of four notes: three short ones and a long one, held under a fermata. This piano solo version follows a reduction published in London by Augener around 1900 and plays the repeat of the exposition.
The motif passes constantly from one hand to the other, often as repeated chords or octaves in eighth notes: keep your wrist loose and let the weight of your arm make the forte, or your hand will tire quickly. Hold every fermata for its full length; Noctave plays them twice as long as written. The second theme, announced by a fortissimo call, is played dolce and legato, in contrast with what surrounds it. In bar 268, a short slow cadenza in small notes recalls the oboe of the orchestra: take your time before moving on.