Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92

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.

 

Première

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. The piece was very well received, and the allegretto had to be encored.

 

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.

 

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) 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.

 

Reception

Critics and listeners have often felt stirred or inspired by the Seventh Symphony. For instance, one program-note author writes:

... the final movement zips along at an irrepressible pace that threatens to sweep the entire orchestra off its feet and around the theater, caught up in the sheer joy of performing one of the most perfect symphonies ever written.

Composer and music author Antony Hopkins says of the symphony:

The Seventh Symphony perhaps more than any of the others gives us a feeling of true spontaneity; the notes seem to fly off the page as we are borne along on a floodtide of inspired invention. Beethoven himself spoke of it fondly as "one of my best works". Who are we to dispute his judgment?

Another admirer, Richard Wagner, referring to the lively rhythms which permeate the work, called it the "apotheosis of the dance".

On the other hand, admiration for the work has not been universal. Carl Maria von Weber considered the chromatic bass line in the coda of the first movement evidence that Beethoven was "ripe for the madhouse" 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."

 

Trivia

• This work was both the first and the final piece ever conducted by Leonard Bernstein, the final one being with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on August 19, 1990.[8]
• 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.