Beethoven's 7th Symphony

The premiere of Beethoven’s 7^th symphony was one of his most successful concerts. It was performed to benefit soldiers who had been wounded in the battle of Hanau. The audience was miserable because of Napoleon’s rule, and loved the symphony because of its energy and beauty. It was performed 3 times within 10 weeks of its premiere. The second movement (Allegretto) of this symphony is possibly Beethoven’s most popular composition, and was encored at the premiere. It is typically performed separately from the complete symphony, and has been used in many films and pop culture.

While most of Beethoven’s symphonies have obvious meanings and messages, this symphony is considered to be the one most left open to interpretation. There are many different ideas as to what this symphony meant; some examples from the time period include “a procession in an old cathedral or catacombs (Joseph d’Ortegue, 1863), a love-dream of a sumptuous odalesque (F.L.S. von Durenburg, 1863), a tale of Moorish knighthood (A. B. Marx, 1859), scenes from a masquerade (Alexander d’Oulibisheff, 1857) or a sequel to the Pastoral Symphony”. Another irregularity about this symphony is its use of rhythm. It was typical of the time to interweave the same rhythmic motif throughout an entire work, as we see in Beethoven’s Fifth, but in this work each movement has its own unique rhythm. In the second movement, the rhythmic motif is a quarter note followed by two eighth notes, followed by two quarter notes. This constantly pulsating rhythm drives the piece at a melancholy-feeling tempo.

            This movement, from what I can tell, is in the form of a double variation. Most used by Haydn, this form employs two themes, then alternates variations on both themes. Often there is a coda at the end.

From the video below, this is my analysis of this movement. (This could be very wrong, but I think I did a pretty good job.)

0’00” Theme A in A minor-low strings

0’42” Variation on A in A minor-building

1’20” Variation on A in A minor-high strings

1’57” Variation on A in A minor-full orchestra

2’40” Theme B in C major

3’50” fugato on A-modulating

5’25” Variation on A in A minor

5’42” Variation on B in A major

6’16” Coda of A

6’30” Restatement of A in A minor

 Sources:

YouTube

http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics4/beethovenseventh.html