byRituparna Nath Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams
Reading Passage Question
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 Eight 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.
“The Seventh Symphony (1812) was, at the time, Beethoven’s last” - is a reading comprehension passage with answers for the GMAT. Candidates must have a strong understanding of English GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT Reading Comprehension section contains 8 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are intended to assess candidates' abilities to comprehend, analyse, and apply information or concepts. GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions can help candidates actively prepare.
Solutions and Explanation
- The author implies which of the following is a characteristic of "classicism"?
A) nostalgia
B) lack of focus
C) compromising
D) dense saturation
E) works on a smaller scale
Answer: E
Explanation: Beethoven has been one of the most respected and successful composers and pianists of his time and all his works were greatly admired and loved by the audiences. He gave some of the most successful pieces in his lifetime which became an example for all future musicians. He followed the classical style of composing music and his 1812 composition. The Seventh Symphony was perhaps the last piece which showed some highlights of classicism. The Seventh Symphony had smaller scales as compared to his other works which were lengthy. Beethoven loved to compose in the classical style and it might have been tough for him to deviate from his usual style. To do something fresh and distinctive in his upcoming compositions.
- 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) Compared to his other symphonies, it is a particularly esoteric public work, having both friendly and violent tendencies.
Answer: B
Explanation: After The Seventh Symphony, Beethoven brought some experimentation with his composition style and The Eighth Symphony is an example of the same. The Eighth Symphony was very distinctive and unique from all the previous pieces done by him. This maybe was the reason why it clicked with the audience really well. The Eighth Symphony was the first piece by Beethoven where he explored concentration to organize his entire composition. For the first time, his musical piece did not look scattered and incomplete. His experiment with his compositions became a hit as they clicked and connected with the audiences of the modern age and once again brought him to the spotlight.
- 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.
Answer: C
Explanation: We all might have heard of writer’s block in a novelist’s life when an author cannot understand what to write. There is a strong possibility that he keeps on repeating his messages. His themes continuously in a single novel which makes it monotonous and non-connective for the audiences. There was a time in the life of Beethoven when there was little or no scope for development. The year was 1795 and the pieces composed by Beethoven were not as better as the ones he composed in the next 15 years. There might be various reasons due to which this could have happened but whatever the case is there is not an iota of doubt. The Beethoven has been one of the best composers who gave a wonderful touch to the western music.
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