In 1811 Beethoven became afflicted with a fever and severe headaches and traveled to the Bohemian spa town of Teplice on his doctor’s orders for several seasons throughout 18. Unfortunately, the composer continually struggled with his health. We’ll now fast-forward five years from the composition of the Fourth Symphony: Beethoven had two more symphonies under his belt, the victorious Fifth and the “Pastoral” Sixth, as well as scores of other smaller works, and was quickly coming to be regarded as the leading living composer of the day. A dazzling perpetual motion finale then takes over, strong despite its lightness, and races headlong toward the stirring conclusion of this small but mighty symphony. A scherzo with a five-part structure (rather than the traditional three parts) follows: the first section, heard three times, is bounding and dance-like, while the slower second section, played twice, lilts along in the winds and strings. The second movement Adagio is an expressive rondo, the tender mood of its main theme underscored with constant motion in the accompaniment. The first movement proper acts as light bursting forth from this shadowy introduction while firmly controlled, its forward motion is buoyant, rousing, and energetic. The work begins with a slow introduction featuring unsettled dissonance and heavy ambiguity. The work premiered at a private concert in Vienna in March of 1807 and was dedicated to Count Oppersdorff.īeethoven’s Fourth spans four movements and has a performance time of about 35 minutes. The Count was such a fan of this work that he soon paid Beethoven to compose one specifically for him (this perhaps explains the similarity in style between the two symphonies). While a visitor in the Count’s home, Beethoven heard his own Second Symphony performed by Oppersdorff’s court orchestra. 4 was the result of a commission from Count Franz von Oppersdorff, a relative of Beethoven’s patron. The compositional language is both assuredly and appealingly Beethovenian, including the driving forward momentum, brilliant development of small musical ideas, and unusual yet striking harmonic relationships that are all hallmarks of Beethoven’s style.Ĭomposed over about one month in the summer of 1806, Symphony No. Robert Schumann aptly called the work “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants.” For all its lack of comparative appreciation, Beethoven’s Fourth is inarguably a masterwork. The Fourth’s placement and overall tone contributes to its relative obscurity: sandwiched between the monumental Third and the powerful Fifth, the Fourth is generally lightweight and cheerful, lacking the same dramatic punch and extramusical associations as its neighbors. Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, on the other hand, is the least known and least performed of his symphonies.
Indeed, the Fifth’s unmistakable short-short-short-long motif and the Ninth’s stirring “Ode to Joy” chorus are some of the most recognizable melodies ever penned. When modern listeners think of Ludwig van Beethoven’s nine symphonies, there are undoubtedly those that come to mind more readily than others.
0 kommentar(er)
