scherzo

formSKER-tsohfrom Italian

A lively, playful movement that replaced the minuet in symphonies from Beethoven onward.‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‌‍

In Depth

A scherzo (Italian for joke) replaced the minuet as the typical third movement in symphonies and sonatas from Beethoven onward.‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‌‍ While the minuet was stately and graceful, the scherzo is faster, more energetic, and often playful or dramatic. Like the minuet, it uses triple meter and includes a contrasting trio section. Beethoven's scherzos are more powerful than playful — the scherzo of his Fifth Symphony builds enormous tension. Chopin composed four standalone scherzos for piano that are large-scale, serious works despite their name. Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler all wrote substantial scherzos that range from genuinely humorous to deeply unsettling.

Did you know?

Beethoven's scherzos were so much more intense than the minuets they replaced that Haydn reportedly said Beethoven had turned a parlour dance into a thunderstorm.

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