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Before Beethoven\u2019s time, classical music culture looked and sounded quite different. When Mozart premiered his Symphony 31 in the late 1700s, it was standard for audiences to clap, cheer, and yell \u201cda capo!\u201d (Italian for \u201cfrom the beginning!\u201d) in the middle of a performance. After Beethoven\u2019s Fifth Symphony debuted in the early 1800s, these norms changed \u2014 both because the rising industrial merchant class took ownership of concert halls and because of shifts in the music itself.\nAs we explored in episodes\xa0I\xa0and\xa0II\xa0of the\xa0Switched On Pop\xa0podcast series\xa0The 5th, the musical complexity of Beethoven\u2019s symphony required a different kind of listening. The Fifth\u2019s four-note opening theme occurs and recurs in variations throughout the symphony, slowly shifting from minor to major keys and mirroring Beethoven\u2019s experience with deafness. The Fifth\u2019s creative rule-breaking \u2014 subverting the classical sonata form in the first movement, for example \u2014 requires close listening to fully grasp. Over time, these norms crystallized into a set of etiquette rules (e.g., \u201cdon\u2019t clap mid-piece\u201d) to enhance the new listening experience. In the third episode of\xa0The 5th, we explore how Beethoven\u2019s symphony was used to generate the strict culture of classical music \u2014 and the politics that undergird those norms of behavior.\n\nMusic Discussed\nRecording of The New York Philharmonic performing Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Jaap van Zweden used by permission from Decca Gold.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices