When listening to both of these great composers, I attempted to listen through all three planes. As a musician myself, I am more inclined to listen through the musical and emotional aspects, however I do not separate these from each other. I try to see both the technical and emotional aspects of the music. The way I see it, the music is taking me on a journey, not the other way around. I listen to the music as a narrative, with no specific protagonist, but rather with multiple voices speaking about a certain feeling at once or expressing an idea that simply cannot be expressed in words.
In Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, I will agree with Copeland that the music is more predictable since it follows a musically logical format where the music is always resolved with the corresponding chord/notes. This does not mean that the music itself is less enjoyable, but it is simply a difference of style.
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, on the other hand, is far less predictable since the music is always transitioning into something you do not expect. For example, from 11:13-13:24 the music starts off high, gets lower, but then gets higher again. The notes begin to go down the scale and it is logical to assume that the piece would be nearing its end, especially with the long note the strings hold at the end of this small section. However, Beethoven prolongs this section and at 14:12, the music begins to pick back up and it goes on a course that no one expected. Throughout the entire symphony, Beethoven defies what we expect and creates a very unpredictable yet moving piece.
I agree that music is a narrative that can’t be expressed in words, which is what makes it so captivating. Nice post!