Form

Scherzo

Literally means a joke. A very fast movement, with three beats in the bar, which replaced the minuet in the symphony at the end of the Classical period, and was used mainly in the Romantic period. First of all listen to a short excerpt from one of the first scherzos from Symphony No. 2 by Beethoven, when he was still composing 'Classical music'. Listen for the faster three beats in a bar and the imitation between the parts.

   Now listen to the third movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony, regarded as a Romantic composition. It still has three beats in a bar and a scherzo shape but is marked presto. Notice the difference in the speed.

Portrait of Beethoven in 1823, four years before his death.