The gigantic struggle of Ludwig van Beethoven in composing his celebrated Fifth Simphony in 1805 was made ingeniously vivid on november 1954 on Omnibus (Sun. 5-:630 E.S.T., CBS-TV). Twelve musicians, each representing and instrument used in a full orchestra, stood on a huge painted replica of the symphony's first page. And as he played, each musician stood on the staff where his own notes were written.
The conductor Leonard Bernstein went on to tell how Beethoven labored for three years, rewriting, scratching out and tearing up - sometimes as many as 20 times - to create his work. For example, the orchestra showed how the famous four opening notes, which became the World War II victory theme, were first score for flutes, clarinets and strings. Heralding such a vigorous work, the piping notes of the flute sounded "like a delicate lady at a club smoker" until Beethoven thought better and eliminated them, used only clarinets, violins, violas, celos and basses to achieve the right portentous tone.
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images and info provided by the LIFE Magazine / LIFE Magazine International / LIFE Magazine Atlantic ARCHIVE from the Zetu Harrys Collection
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