Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven)
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Ludwig van Beethoven began concentrated work on his Symphony No. 7 in A major (Op. 92) in 1811, while he was staying in the Bohemian spa town of Teplice in the hope of improving his health. It was completed in 1812, and was dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries.
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[edit] Premiere
The work was premiered in Vienna on December 8, 1813 at a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau, with Beethoven himself conducting and Louis Spohr among the violinists.[1] The piece was very well received, and the allegretto had to be encored.[2]
[edit] Instrumentation
The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in A, E and D, 2 trumpets in D, timpani and strings.
[edit] Form
The Seventh Symphony is in four movements:
- I. Poco sostenuto — Vivace
- II. Allegretto
- III. Presto
- IV. Allegro con brio
Performance time lasts approximately 34 minutes.
After a slow introduction (as in the First, Second and Fourth Symphonies) the first movement is in sonata form and is dominated by lively dance-like rhythms.
The second movement, in A minor, is "slow", although the tempo marking is Allegretto ("a little quickly"), making it slow only in comparison to the other three movements. This movement was encored at the premiere and has remained popular since. The figure of quarter note, two eighth notes and two quarter notes is heard repeatedly.
The third movement is a scherzo and trio. Here, the trio (which is based on an Austrian Pilgrims' hymn[3]) is played twice rather than once. This expansion of the usual A-B-A structure of ternary form into A-B-A-B-A was quite common in other works of Beethoven of this period, such as his Fourth Symphony and String Quartet Op. 59 No. 2.
The last movement is in sonata form. Donald Francis Tovey, writing in his Essays in Musical Analysis, commented on this movement's "Bacchic fury".
The work is known for its use of rhythmic devices. It is also tonally subtle, making use of the tensions between the key centres of A, C and F. The second movement is in A minor with episodes in A major, and the scherzo is in F major.
[edit] Reception
Richard Wagner, drawing attention to the lively rhythms which permeate the work, called it the "apotheosis of the dance".[4] Carl Maria von Weber, on the other hand, considered the chromatic bass line in the coda of the first movement evidence that Beethoven was "ripe for the madhouse"[citation needed] and the 20th century conductor Thomas Beecham was similarly uncharitable, saying "What can you do with it? It's like a lot of yaks jumping about."[citation needed]
[edit] Trivia
- This work was both the first as well as the final piece ever conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on August 19, 1990.[5]
- For some years, the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra played the second movement at their rehearsals whenever word was received of the death of a current or former orchestra member.[citation needed]
- The Allegretto can be heard at the end of the 2002 french film Irréversible.
[edit] References
- ^ Steinberg, Michael. "The Symphony: a listeners guide". p. 38-43. Oxford University Press, 1995.
- ^ Steinberg, Michael. "The Symphony: a listeners guide". p. 38-43. Oxford University Press, 1995.
- ^ Grove, George. "Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies". p. 228-271. Dover, 1962.
- ^ Grove, George. "Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies". p. 228-271. Dover, 1962.
- ^ Garrison Keillor (25 August 2003). The Writer's Almanac. American Public Media. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Full Score of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.
- Free recording by the Columbia University Orchestra.
- Complete performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
| Ludwig van Beethoven |
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| Life and work • Musical style and innovations • Beethoven and his contemporaries • List of works |
| Symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven |
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| First - Second - Third ("Eroica") - Fourth - Fifth - Sixth ("Pastoral") - Seventh - Eighth - Ninth ("Choral") |
