The Eighth Symphony

AMBER513

The Seventh Symphony (1812) was, at the time, Beethoven’s last and vibrant word on the big style he had cultivated in the previous decade. In the Eighth Symphony (1814) he does something new by seeming to return to something old. He writes, that is, a symphony shorter than any since his First. It is almost as though he wanted to call his entire development throughout that decade into question. Indeed, over the remaining years of his life he would confidently explore in opposite directions, writing bigger pieces than before and ones more compressed, his most rhetorical music and his most inward, his most public and his most esoteric, compositions that plumb the inexhaustible possibilities of the sonata style and those that propose utterly new ways of organizing material, music reaching extremes of the centered and the bizarre.

If, however, we think of the Eighth as a nostalgic return to the good old days, we misunderstand it. To say it is 1795 revisited from the vantage point of 1812 is not right either. What interests Beethoven is not so much brevity for its own sake—and certainly not something called “classicism”—as concentration. It is as though he were picking up where he had left off in the densely saturated first movement of the Fifth Symphony to produce another tour de force of tight packing. He had already done something like this two years earlier in one of his most uncompromising works, the F-minor String Quartet, Op. 95. But a symphony is not a “private” connoisseur’s music like a string quartet; by comparison, the Eighth Symphony is Opus 95’s friendly, open-featured cousin, even though its first and last movements bring us some of the most violent moments in Beethoven.

1. The author most likely mentioned the F-minor String Quartet, Op. 95 in order to

A. show, by contrast, how friendly and approachable the Eighth Symphony is

B. expand the list of Beethoven's works that could be called a tour de force.

C. provide an example of a work that is concentrated but not violent

D. cite another work similar in formal organization to the Eighth Symphony

E. elucidate the channel by which the Fifth Symphony influenced the Eighth.

定位： It is as though he were picking up where he had left off in the densely saturated first movement of the Fifth Symphony to produce another tour de force of tight packing. He had already done something like this two years earlier in one of his most uncompromising works, the F-minor String Quartet, Op. 95.

This is a detail question. The F-minor String Quartet, Op. 95 is mentioned in the last two sentences of the entire passage. He cites this as another example of a another work organized by the principle of "concentration" or "tight-packing."

Choice (D) says exactly this --- both the Op. 95 Quartet and the Eighth Symphony share the "concentration" or "tight-packing" principle underlying their organization.

Choice (A) is misleading. The Eighth contains "violent" music, which doesn't necessarily sound "friendly and approachable". More importantly, the Op. 95 Quartet was cited primarily to demonstrate a similarity, not a different. Choice (A) is not correct.

The author happens to refer to both first movement of the Fifth and the entire Eighth as a "tour de force", but clearly, making a list of every Beethoven work that could be called a "tour de force" is not the author's concern. Choice (B) is not correct.

We know that the Op. 95 is an example of a concentrated work, but do we know whether that music would be described as violent? The passage calls it "uncompromising", which could be construed as "violent" --- certainly, we have no evidence that it is not "violent", so choice (C) is not correct.

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2. Which of the following is the purpose of the first sentence of the second paragraph? A.  To introduce the differences between the Eighth Symphony and earlier works of similar scale
B.  To indicate how Beethoven felt that nostalgia had no place in symphonic compositions
C.  To explain what is so rough and uncompromising about a work such as the Eighth Symphony.
D.  To emphasize that the Eighth Symphony had almost nothing in common with Beethoven's previous works, except in the most superficial assessment
E.  To demonstrate why the Eighth Symphony was considerably more optimistic than were Beethoven's early works.
定位：What interests Beethoven is not so much brevity for its own sake—and certainly not something called “classicism”—as concentration.


In the first paragraph, the author mentions a superficial similarity between the First Symphony and the Eighth --- they are both on the short side. In the first sentence of the second paragraph, he dispels any notion that there is any more profound similarity between them, and proceeds to talk about the new organizing principle used in the Eighth. This exactly what choice (A), the credited answer, says.
The author uses idea of "nostalgia" as a metaphor for the wrong way to interpret the Eighth, but we have no idea what Beethoven actually thought about nostalgia or whether he ever used it in any symphony. Choice (B) is not correct.
First of all, we don't know that the Eighth Symphony is "rough and uncompromising", and even if it is, it's not clear that anything in the first sentence of the second paragraph even vaguely refers to this. Choice (C) is not correct.
Choice (D) is too extreme. The passage later talks about deep similarities with two previous works, the first movement of the Fifth Symphony and the Op. 95 String Quartet. These examples contradict choice (D), so choice (D) is not correct.
Was the Eighth Symphony "optimistic"? Neither this word or this idea is discussed anywhere in the passage, so we have absolutely no basis on which to evaluate this claim. Choice (E) is not correct.

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3. The primary purpose of this passage is

A.  to explain how Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony exemplifies the inward and uncompromising music that characterized his final years
B.  to explore how Beethoven, by the time of his Eighth Symphony, came to see his development in the previous years as worth little
C.  to clarify the new objectives Beethoven had in composing his Eighth Symphony
D.  to compare and contrast the Eighth Symphony with all of Beethoven's previous works
E.  to call into question whether the methods Beethoven employed in his Eighth Symphony were ultimately effective
文章结构：introduction of the eighth symphony→what it seems→what it actually expresses→analogy(this is way to clarify sth.)

A primary purpose question. The credited answer is (C). The whole passage is about the Eighth Symphony, and specifically, how it was a much more "compact" or "tightly packed" symphony that the previous "big style" symphonies. Thus, Beethoven had "new objectives" in composing the Eighth, as this answer says.

The passage mentions "inward" as examples of one extreme in Beethoven's late period.  The Eighth Symphony is not "private," so it would seem it's not "inward."  The passage also discusses the Op. 95 quartet as "uncompromising," and that piece is presented as a contrast to the Eighth Symphony, so it's unclear whether that term would apply.   Choice (A) is not correct.

The passage uses the phrase: "It is almost as though [Beethoven] wanted to call his entire development throughout that decade into question." This is a metaphor. It does not say Beethoven actually thought anything bad about what he had previously done. It just emphasizes how radically different the new direction was. There is no evidence in the passage that Beethoven actually called any of his work into question. Choice (B) is not correct.

The passage does discuss Beethoven's new objectives in composing the Eighth, but it really spends no time analyzing other works—it just mentions a few in passing. The phrase in the answer "all of his previous works" is far too extreme. Choice (D) is not correct.

The passage is primarily descriptive, telling what Beethoven was trying to accomplish. The passage does call the Eighth a "tour de force," which is high praise, but other than that, really says nothing evaluative.  What little is said is positive, but "call into question" sounds negative, so this doesn't fit. Choice (E) is not correct.

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4.  Which of the following does the author imply about Beethoven's Eighth Symphony?

A.  It is compromising, and not vibrant like a piece typical of classicism.
B.  In it, for the first time, Beethoven explored concentration as an organizing principle for an entire symphony.
C.  It was more inwardly focused, less rhetorical than the F-minor String Quartet, Op. 95.
D.  It rejected the sonata style used in the Seventh Symphony, exploring completely new ways to organize music.
E.  Parts of it demonstrate that Beethoven was willing to resort to violence to defend his view of music.

定位：It is as though he were picking up where he had left off in the densely saturated first movement of the Fifth Symphony to produce another tour de force of tight packing.

The credited answer is (B). The passage makes a big point of saying that, after the Seventh Symphony, Beethoven explored a new organizing principle. The First Symphony was short, but for a different reason. The first movement of the Fifth was concentrated, but in isolating the first movement of that work, the author implies that concentration is not the principle of the entire work. It is the principle of the entire Eighth Symphony, so this is the first time.

In Choice (A), the word "compromising" has a derogatory connotation, but the author clearly has a high opinion of the Eighth symphony. The passage says the Seventh Symphony was the "last and vibrant word on the big style …", so the Seventh Symphony is vibrant, but we have no idea whether any piece typical of classicism would be, nor is it implied that the Eighth is not vibrant. Choice (A) is not correct.

The first paragraph mentions the contrast of "rhetorical" vs. "inward-focused," without explaining it, and it's unclear which the Eighth Symphony occupies. We know that the Quartet was called "private," and the Symphony wasn't "private"—if it's not "private," that sounds like it would not be "inward-focused". Choice (C) is not correct.

The first paragraph mentions the contrast of "sonata style" vs. "new ways of organizing music," but we have no evidence on which side the Eighth Symphony (or the Seventh Symphony!!) would fall. Choice (D) is not correct.

The first paragraph mentions that the Eighth Symphony's "first and last movements bring us some of the most violent moments in Beethoven."  Here, a quality of music, presumably its intensity, is being described metaphorically.  This has nothing to do with literal acts of violence, nor does it imply that Beethoven was somehow in favor of acts of violence.  Choice (E) is not correct.

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5.  The author implies which of the following is a characteristic of "classicism"?

A.  looseness
B.  lack of focus
C.  compromising
D.  dense saturation
E.  works on a smaller scale

定位： In the Eighth Symphony (1814) he does something new by seeming to return to something old. He writes, that is, a symphony shorter than any since his First.
What interests Beethoven is not so much brevity for its own sake—and certainly not something called “classicism”—as concentration.

This is a detail question. Classicism is mentioned in the third sentence of the second paragraph. There, by means ofan appositive phrase, it equates "brevity for its own sake" with "classicism," so we need something that expresses an idea of brevity. Of the five answers, only (E), "works of smaller scale," makes any reference to brevity. Choice (E) is the credited answer.

The author describes the Eighth Symphony as a "tour de force of tight packing," but this doesn't necessarily imply that "classicism" is equivalent to "looseness."  Choice (A) is incorrect.   

The author mentioned "concentration" in the sense of density, of putting a great deal of material in a comparatively small space.  The word is not used in the sense of "mental focus," so the term "lack of focus" plays on this incorrect sense of the word.  Choice (B) is incorrect.  

The author mentions that the Op. 95 String Quartet was "uncompromising."  Since this piece was mentioned as a contrast to the Eighth Symphony, it's unclear whether this same word would apply to the symphony.  Furthermore, when describing a piece of music, "uncompromising" connotes intensity and passion, so the opposite would be something like relaxed and even-keeled.  The word "compromising," though literally the opposite, doesn't work as the opposite in this context.  Choice (C) is incorrect.  

The author describes the opening movement of the Fifth Symphony as "densely saturated," and in this it is apparently similar to the Eighth Symphony.  If "dense saturation" is a quality of the Eight Symphony, then, according to the passage, it is not a quality of "classicalism."  Choice (D) is incorrect.   

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6.  The passage provides support for which of the following?

A.  Beethoven's Eighth Symphony would not be appreciated by connoisseurs.
B.  The Fifth Symphony is the shortest symphony between the First and the Eighth.
C.  In 1795, Beethoven composed works that contained less development than the majority of pieces over the next 15 years.
D.  The F-minor String Quartet, Op. 95 is one of Beethoven's most esoteric works.
E.  Later in life, Beethoven developed significant misgivings about the big development characteristic of Symphonies of his middle period.

定位：Indeed, over the remaining years of his life he would confidently explore in opposite directions, writing bigger pieces than before and ones more compressed, his most rhetorical music and his most inward, his most public and his most esoteric, compositions that plumb the inexhaustible possibilities of the sonata style and those that propose utterly new ways of organizing material, music reaching extremes of the centered and the bizarre.

The author calls the Eighth Symphony a "tour de force", which is high praise. This seems to indicate that it would be appreciated by connoisseurs. Choice (A) is not correct.

We know the First Symphony was short, and we know the Eighth was the shortest since the First. We know the first movement of the Fifth is "tightly packed", which presumably means a little shorter, but we have no idea about the rest of that symphony. We know thing about the other five symphonies in that stretch, so we have no basis on which to drawn this conclusion. Choice (B) is not correct.

We know the Op. 95 Quartet is "uncompromising" and an example of "concentration" in organization, but we have no basis on which to decide whether it is "esoteric." Choice (D) is not correct.

Choice (E) is misleading. The passage uses the phrase: "It is almost as though [Beethoven] wanted to call his entire development throughout that decade into question." This is a metaphor. It does not say Beethoven actually thought anything bad about what he had previous done. It just emphasizes how radically different the new direction was. There is no evidence in the passage that Beethoven actually called any of his work into question. Choice (E) is not correct.