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 Freis.

1 Orchestration
2 Form
3 History
4 Reception
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] Orchestration

The orchestration for the seventh Symphony is as follows:

Woodwinds: 2 Flutes; 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets in A; 2 Bassoons

Brass: 2 Horns in A, E, D; 2 Trumpets in D

Percussion: Timpani

Strings: 1st, 2nd Violins; Violas; Violoncellos; Double Basses

[edit] Form

The Seventh Symphony is in four movements:

Poco sostenuto — Vivace
Allegretto
Presto
Allegro con brio

Performance time lasts approximately 34 minutes.

After a slow introduction (as in Symphonies 1, 2, and 4) the first movement is dominated by lively dance-like rhythms. It is in the customary sonata form.

The second movement, in A minor, is ostensibly the slow movement of the work, although the marking is allegretto (translatable as "a little quickly"). This movement proved to be very popular, often being encored in Beethoven's day.^{[citation needed]} It became common practice to repeat this movement in the nineteenth century.^{[citation needed]} As in the first movement, rhythm and melody are both important features. The figure of crotchet, two quavers and two crotchets is heard repeatedly.

The third movement is a scherzo and trio, but with the trio (which is apparently based on an Austrian Pilgrims' hymn ^{[citation needed]} ) being played twice rather than once, so expanding the usual ABA structure of ternary form into ABABA (this is a feature of other works by Beethoven, such as his 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] History

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.^{[citation needed]} The piece was very well received, and the allegretto had to be encored.^{[citation needed]} The same concert saw the premiere of Beethoven's Wellington's Victory, a great popular success in its day, now almost forgotten.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Reception

Richard Wagner, drawing attention to the lively rhythms which permeate the work, called it the "apotheosis of the dance".^{[citation needed]} 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]}Liszt arranged the work for solo piano, as he did all of Beethoven's symphonies.

[edit] Trivia

This work was the final piece ever conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on August 19, 1990. ^{[citation needed]}

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]}