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These eight ferocious notes open one of the most explosive pieces of music ever composed.
这八个激烈的音符，开启了音乐史上最具爆炸性的曲子。
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony Number Five premiered in 1808, on a blisteringly cold Vienna night.
路德维西·范·贝多芬创作的《第五交响曲》，首演于1808年维也纳的一个寒风刺骨的夜晚。
The piece was just one small part of a lengthy program, and the orchestra had been hastily assembled and under-rehearsed.
这首曲子仅仅是一个大项目中的一小部分，乐团也是匆忙组建的，排练得也不够充分。
But despite this inauspicious premiere, the symphony quickly won acclaim.
但尽管首演并不理想，这首交响曲很快获得了赞誉。
One critic likened the piece to "glowing beams of light, piercing through the darkness."
一位评论家将这部作品比作像“一束束光从黑暗中穿透而来”。
This intensity persists throughout the composition, and its dramatic musicality continues to move listeners today.
这种紧张感贯穿整部作品，戏剧化的音乐直至今天仍在感染着听众。
So what exactly makes Beethoven's Fifth so captivating?
那么贝多芬的《第五交响曲》究竟为何如此迷人呢？
When the symphony premiered, Beethoven already had a formidable reputation.
这部交响曲首演之际，贝多芬已经十分出名。
While his peers produced music exclusively for religious functions or private events held by their wealthy patrons,
在他的同行还只写宗教音乐，或者为他们富有的赞助人举办的私人活动作曲时，
Beethoven was one of the first freelance composers.
贝多芬已经成为了史上第一位自由职业作曲家。
He made his living composing and selling his music to publishers in multiple countries and showcasing his compositions to an adoring public.
他靠作曲谋生，把曲子卖给多个国家的出版商，向崇拜他的观众表演他的作品。
This career choice gave him the flexibility to compose for self-expression and Beethoven was always pursuing new ways to translate his powerful emotions into music.
这一职业选择为他提供了自我表达的空间，而且贝多芬也总在探索新的方法，来用音乐传达他强烈的情感。
At the time, most composers worked within the Classical style, which offered limited options for a piece's overarching structure and instrumentation.
当时大部分作曲家以“古典主义”风格作曲，一首曲子可选的的整体结构和使用的乐器比较有限。
Beethoven composed most of his earlier pieces in this tradition, following in the footsteps of role models like Mozart and Haydn.
贝多芬大部分早期的作品延续了这种传统，跟随着莫扎特和海顿这些榜样的步伐。
But with his Fifth Symphony, he experimented with elements of Romanticism.
但在他的《第五交响曲》中，他尝试加入了一些浪漫主义元素。
This blossoming mode of composition was known for its expressive melodies, extended forms and surprising instrumentations.
这种逐渐成熟的作曲方法，以其极具感染性的旋律，更加广泛的形式和令人惊喜的配器著称。
The first movement of Beethoven's Fifth uses a Classical sonata form, in which a central musical idea is explored, developed, and repeated in an altered manner.
贝多芬《第五交响曲》第一乐章使用了古典主义音乐的奏鸣曲式，针对一个中心的音乐主题，使用不同的方式发掘、发展和反复。
Within these parameters, he explores a simple idea with incredible depth.
在这些已设定的范围内，贝多芬异常深入地探索一个简简单单的乐想。
A single rhythmic motif serves as the building block for most of the movement: three short notes, followed by a lingering fourth.
单独的一个动机非常有节奏感，作为该乐章大部分片段的基本组成要素，即三个短音接着一个延绵的长音。
One of Beethoven's biographers would later call this pattern the "fate motif," because it suggests the figure of fate knocking at the door.
后来，一位贝多芬的传记作家称其为“命运动机”，因为它体现出了命运叩门般的画面。
While it's not clear if Beethoven composed the motif with fate in mind, these notes certainly create a gripping hook.
尽管我们并不清楚贝多芬本人是否在谱曲时想到了命运，这几个音符的确染具有强大的吸引力。
The rhythmic pattern creates forward movement, while the prolonged fourth note signals doom.
富有节奏感的片段创造出一种向前的趋势，而拉长的第四个音则象征着毁灭。
This motif haunts the symphony, including its accompanying parts and rhythmic flourishes.
这一动机笼罩着整首交响曲，包括伴奏部分和鲜明的节奏。
Beethoven experiments with dozens of variations, playing out across different instruments and pitches.
贝多芬尝试了十余种变体，用不同的乐器和音高展示。
Throughout the piece, this motif is passed around the orchestra like a whisper, gradually reaching more and more instruments until it becomes a roar.
这一动机贯穿全曲，像耳语一样在乐团中传递，传递到越来越多的乐器，直至变为一声怒吼。
The motif's inventive repetition is a large part of what makes this piece so memorable, but it's not the only innovation on display.
这一动机具有独创性的反复，很大程度上是这首曲子能够如此印象深刻的原因，但它不是这首曲子唯一的具有独创性的地方。
This was the first major orchestral composition to use trombones,
这是第一首在乐团中使用长号的大型交响乐曲，
and Beethoven also employs a high-pitched piccolo and a low-pitched contrabassoon to give the orchestra a wider range than most classical compositions.
而且贝多芬还使用了一个高音短笛和一个倍低音巴松，使乐团的音域比大部分古典主义作品更广。
Exaggerated musical dynamics further heighten the drama.
夸张化的音乐强弱对比更加增强了戏剧性。
And harmonically, the piece has a clear emotional arc -- beginning in a somber C minor and ending in a triumphant C major.
在和声方面，这首曲子也有着清晰的情感走向，开始是阴郁的c小调，最终以辉煌的C大调结尾。
This progression, from ominous unease to majestic resolution, is a testament to Beethoven's ability to inject raw emotionality into his music.
这种音乐进行，从不详的不适感发展到辉煌的尾声，是贝多芬有能力向他的音乐注入丰富情感的强有力证明。
He wrote this symphony while battling with hearing loss, and his anguish can be heard in the composition's thunderous and repeating musical phrases.
贝多芬写这部交响曲时正在经历听力衰退，而从他的作品中就能听出他的痛苦，在滚滚雷声般不断重复的乐句中可见一斑。
Beethoven continued to compose even after he became completely deaf, producing innovative music until his death in 1827.
贝多芬在他完全失聪之后仍坚持作曲，不断产出富有创造性的音乐，直至1827年去世。
And the Fifth Symphony's central motif has continued to resound through the ages.
而他《第五交响曲》中的中心动机则在岁月中持续地回响。
Outside of concert halls, the piece has become a symbol for suspense, revelation, and triumph.
这部交响曲走出了音乐厅，成为悬疑、启示和胜利的象征。
The fate motif sounds out the letter V in Morse code, and during World War II, the Fifth Symphony became a code for victory amongst the Allies.
命运动机在摩斯电码中代表字母“V”，在二战期间，《第五交响曲》成为盟军之间胜利的暗号。
The iconic composition can be found in film scores, and it's even been explored through musical reinterpretations and visual art.
这部极具象征意义的作品出现在很多电影原声音乐中，人们甚至也在音乐的重新阐释和视觉艺术中继续探索这首曲子。
But whatever the context, Beethoven's Fifth takes its listeners through a dark world, then guides them into the light.
但无论以什么形式，贝多芬的《第五交响曲》都把人们带到一个黑暗的世界，然后带领他们走向光明。
