Teacher’s Guide (grades 7-12)

Three Weeks in Vienna, A Singer’s Account of the Premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
by Susan L. Haugland

These lesson ideas are designed to accompany the reading of Three Weeks in Vienna – providing students with a further understanding of the time period and events surrounding the premiere of the Ninth Symphony, the music itself, and the composer, Ludwig van Beethoven.

Objective: Students will be able to identify specific details regarding four major areas of the story.

Ideas: Students can place answers in chart, outline, or diagram form.

Setting: season, year, place
Characters: soloists, composer, musicians, biographer, others
Problems: location, music, disability, other
Solutions: location, music, disability, other

Objective: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the sequence of events leading up to and including the premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Ideas: Students can create posters or complete a worksheet in which they order the sequence of events.

Objective: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental symphonic form and how Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony follows or deviates from that form.

Ideas: Students can define vocabulary words relating to symphonic form. Charts can be created by students to visually show the characteristics of sonata-allegro form as well as the other movements.

1st Movement: Sonata-Allegro Form

2nd Movement: What was so radical about Beethoven’s 2nd movement in the Ninth Symphony? (2nd movements were always the slow movement in a symphony. Beethoven used a scherzo, literally meaning “joke” as his second movement.)

3rd Movement: Slow. Show form.

4th Movement: Recaps first three movements, then develops its own theme. Show form.

• Ideas for further research projects
• Timeline of Beethoven’s Life
• Discover why Beethoven was considered a revolutionary as a composer.
• Survey public knowledge of Beethoven’s music.
• Discuss the differences that may have occurred had Beethoven lived in our lifetime.
• Compare and contrast the music of Beethoven with that of another composer, or compare and contrast Beethoven’s First Symphony with his last

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