Beethoven: Symphony No 7

THE END OF AN ERA

1812 can be seen as the markerpoint where Beethoven's middle-period came to an end and his late-period was ushered in. Beethoven's middle-period saw the composer at his most creative high with one masterpiece following the other in rapid succession. The beginning of this period can roughly be timed as starting in 1803 with the appearance of the Third Symphony "Eroica" and the "Kreutzer" sonata. ...
...Classicism of Haydn and Mozart behind him and taking on a completely new and individual voice. This individuality became more and more apparent in the works that followed: the "Waldstein" and "Appassionata" piano sonatas, the "Razumovski" quartets, the Violin Concerto, the three last cello sonatas, the "Archduke" piano trio, Fidelio, the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, the Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos, to name ... more

THE END OF AN ERA

1812 can be seen as the markerpoint where Beethoven's middle-period came to an end and his late-period was ushered in. Beethoven's middle-period saw the composer at his most creative high with one masterpiece following the other in rapid succession. The beginning of this period can roughly be timed as starting in 1803 with the appearance of the Third Symphony "Eroica" and the "Kreutzer" sonata. These two works signalled Beethoven distinctly leaving the 18th century Classicism of Haydn and Mozart behind him and taking on a completely new and individual voice. This individuality became more and more apparent in the works that followed: the "Waldstein" and "Appassionata" piano sonatas, the "Razumovski" quartets, the Violin Concerto, the three last cello sonatas, the "Archduke" piano trio, Fidelio, the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, the Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos, to name the most important. With Napoleon heading up his war campaign all over Europe for the better part of the early 19th century, Beethoven's music was very much a by-product of the era. The turmoil of Europe was something Beethoven took very seriously and his music expressed this turmoil well. And when Napoleon's downfall began in the winter of 1812, so did the creative flourish and turbulence of Beethoven's music start waining.

The culmination of Beethoven's middle period came with the introduction of his Seventh and Eighth symphonies. As with the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, the Seventh and Eighth were written at the same time. The Eighth went by without much notice because of its brevity and seemingly unspectacular content (particularly when following the mightier Seventh Symphony). The Seventh however created a much bigger impression. Appearing when it did, the Seventh very quickly became a symbol of patriotism, with the second movement in particular proving a popular encore (sometimes even replacing entire movements from other works). The Seventh was originally planned as the first of a trilogy of symphonies. As mentioned, the Seventh and Eighth appeared at roughly the same time, but the third "in D minor" had to wait for over ten years to be fully realised. The sketches for the Seventh Symphony originate from 1811 (some sources go as far back as 1809) when the composer was in Teplitz on the suggestion of Dr. Malfatti. Upon his return he triumphantly set to work on the Seventh, working on it the whole winter and finishing the score in early 1812.

"THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE DANCE"

At the same time Beethoven was also commissioned to write an incidental piece for Johann Nepomuk Mälzel's invention the panharmonicon in celebration of the victory of the Duke of Wellington over the French army, called "Wellingtons Sieg oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria". These two works received their first performances in the same concert, organized by Mälzel in December 1813. The concert was a massive success with the Seventh Symphony and Welligton's Sieg both being received very favourably due to the patriotic feelings of the audience. Beethoven was the conductor at this occasion with Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Ludwig Spohr and Domenico Dragonetti in the orchestra. Kapellmeister Antonio Salieri along with Johann Nepomuk Hummel were responsible for firing the guns and cannons in Wellington's Sieg. Playing the bass-drum was the young Giacomo Meyerbeer who, according to Beethoven, was so nervous that he kept striking out ot beat throughout the entire symphony. Spohr left a very vivid impression of Beethoven's conducting. When the music reached "forte" he would expand his arms high into the air while keeping them otherwise folded on his chest. When the music was to be played "piano" he would on the contrary squat down behind the podium, and when the music again rose, he would literally jump up and shout out.

Later concerts with the same program were less successful however, and the Seventh was again attacked for being too unconventional and unmusical. Carl Maria von Weber was the one who famously stated that "now Beethoven is finally ready for the mad-house," a sentiment that must have ringed very true to contemporary listeners who though that the symphony was written by a drunkard. Unlike any other symphony of Beethoven's, the Seventh has probably been the most liable in being attached with different programs, ranging from a depiction of a party to an illustration of a waring tribe. Wagner famously said that the Seventh is "the apotheosis of the Dance" because of its great rhythmic drive but this is also a somewhat arbitrary explanation. Still the comment was influential enough that the music was actually transformed into a ballet in its later life. The work was dedicated to the Austrian banker Count Moritz von Fries, who was a collector of art and a patron of the arts.

ANALYSIS (on a movement by movement basis)

I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace

The Symphony begins like the Second and Fourth Symphony with a long introduction. Marked "Poco sostenuto," the vagueness of the tempo marking has caused this introduction to be played at greatly varying speeds, more often very slowly than not. The opening is one of great harmonic span with a broadly descending figure, beginning in A major with oboe, clarinets, horns and bassoons. The violins start up a more rapid series of rising scales that now join with the descending figure, before suddenly entering the distant key of C major with a gracefuly gentle little oboe tune. It is joined by some more martial music of more dramatic weight, which is then succeeded by the same tune appearing in the equally distant F major on the flute. This over, there follows a long series of E's that alternate between the strings and winds. These E's create a tangible feeling of excited expectation that is finally resolved when the winds strike up a more animated 6/8 rhythm from which the main theme of the Vivace begins.

Beginning softly, the theme soon explodes into an infectuously rhythmic and ebullient dance that is maintained throughout the movement. This rhythm truly pervades the entire movement so that even if it might not have got us going in the beginning, it most certainly will have gotten us completely involved by the time we're through. The theme also features a second strain in E major that has a significant continuation. The exposition ends with a jerky and climbing scale of E that takes a pause of two whole bars at the top, after which the exposition is customarily repeated. The development takes two bars from this figure, rises chromatically to G and takes another pause. In G major, the development continues the principal rhythm with the scales streaking in contrary motion. There follows a long set of energetic phrases, hopping in groups of three always higher and higher. Even when the music reaches a rest point, it only turns out to be the same figure in a minor key. From this grows out the recapitulation which melds into the development thanks to the perpetual rhythm of the exposition. The recapitulation is very similar to the exposition apart from the more off-beat flutes in the principal statement of the main theme and a more hushed overall tone. The coda on the other hand is markedly different. The first and second violins throw a hushed rhythm of the first bar back and forth which is then expanded by the basses into a two-bar phrase. Appearing from almost nowhere, the tone of this phrase in its obsessive, off-balanced, writhing motion is painful to the point of being tragic. Above, the violins, however, dance as if nothing bad is happening and from here the music is free to race to a cheerful conclusion.

II. Allegretto

The following Allegretto is not a slow movement. It is not a funeral march as in the Third Symphony, nor is it one of those gracefully flowing Andantes from his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. It continues the rhythmic momentum that pervaded the first movement by offering a world of strange darkness, yet it is darkness that is strangely charming and persuasive. Performance history has often disregarded the tempo indications (which supposedly was originally "Andante" rather than "Allegretto"; this is corroborated by Beethoven's own remarks as well). It has often been played very slowly, thus giving it a distinctly funereal feel, but when taken at the specified speeds one immediately senses how leisurely it actually is. It opens with a chord of A minor, but the very opening is eschewed by the "wrong" note of E in the bass, making it sound very unstable. It is something very similar that he had already used in the third Razumovsky quartet's quasi-slow movement, also cast in A minor and marked "Andante con moto quasi Allegretto". The first four measures there are cast over a persistent E in the bass, and it is probable that this may have been the inspiration for the six-four chord here. The theme is then gradually constructed, beginning with just rhythm and harmony. The violas and cellos then proceed with a grave, yet moving melody to which the beginning rhythm is essentially joined. It is like a procession or the assembeling of dancers in a darkly lit ballroom. A long foray into A major brings much warmth to the music, turning into a more agonizing sense of tenderness (compare the coda of the first movement; deep down this is a sad symphony veiled in a mask of cheerfulness). The first thought returns, embellished by rapid violin runs which develops into a fugato. Another tender episode appears for a moment, after which the music fades away into an unstable ending with the movement's opening six-four chord. Some older versions also extend the pizzicatos at the conclusion of the movement to the very end, but these are highly controversial and nobody really plays them anymore.

III. Presto

What comes next is a complete departure from the stateliness of the Allegretto. The F major Scherzo is one of Beethoven's most boisterous and exciting scherzos. The first two bars are forte, perhaps because the unexpected key of F needs to be forced on us. It is again very rhythmic, but the rhythms here are surprisingly vague. The rest of the main theme after the forte opening is played piano. The main part moves in nicely regular four-bar periods, with a two-bar unit thrown in every now and then. The Scherzo is built in a same way as the scherzos in the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies, by way of scherzo-trio-scherzo-trio-scherzo instead of the more usual scherzo-trio-scherzo scheme. The Trio ("Assai meno presto") is prepared by a long note on A and continues in the pastoral D major (being the submediant of F major, which in turn is the submediant of A minor of the Allegretto). Because of these key relationships and because the mood is so different from the main part, the music becomes even more warm than it would otherwise have been. To avoid the Scherzo from becoming tedious due to its repetitions, Beethoven consciously made little changes in the dynamics in the repeat, the little delightful surprises which unfortunately are often ignored by many conductors. Before the movement is brought to its conclusion on its third round trip, the Trio is briefly hinted at in a peculiarly dark guise (again with the hinted tragedy), followed by five notes of a cheerful conclusion.

IV. Allegro con brio

The finale is the movement that mostly bewildered its first audiences with its whirlwind pace and rhythmic assertiveness. In fact, the finale is almost nothing else but rhythm. It is like a well-oiled machine doing its motions, always controlled and never out of control. Beginning with two detached chords of harmony, it is followed by the "main theme" with wildly swirling string figures and timpani bangs after every swirl (most certainly the things that made Meyerbeer so nervous). The movement is in sonata form with a second subject and its pendant, but we are never allowed to delve on them long enough to really even notice them. Structure, themes, and sections are not that important to us when we are carried forward with the torrent of perpetual repetitions and motion. We can hear the points of relaxation and feel good about them, but they do not leave lasting impressions. The coda is again built on an obsessively repeated bass of G sharp/A, then chromatically working its way down to the dominant E, and then to it's neighbor D sharp (it is almost atonal actually). From here the music builds to a furious climax of unbelievable energy, leaving us breathless from the excitement. It is music of fury, but it is fury controlled. The obsessive rhythms always keep everything under control.

RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS

Deutsche Grammophon. Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique / Gardiner - One of the best period performances around with brisk speeds, vivid sound and great detail. Perfection!

Elatus. Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Harnoncourt - A very good quasi-period performance (using period performance practices and modern instruments) with a chamber sized orchestra. Tempos are brisk, but the rhythms are naturally sprung.

Arte Nova. Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra / Zinman - Another great quasi-period performance, one of the best in its powerful style and rhythmic drive. Again a very good choice.

Naxos. Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia / Drahos - Excellent recording at super-budget price, with great excitement and beautiful recorded quality. Quasi-period performance that doesn't pale among the more expensive versions.

Sony. Cleveland Orchestra / Szell - A very good and dramatic reading.

Deutsche Grammophon. Berlin Philharmoniker / Karajan - Karajan's 1977 BPO version is still one of the top recommendations and is the best of his three recordings. Great drama and value.

EMI. Philharmonia Orchestra / Klemperer - Klemperer's 1955 stereo recording is by far the most satisfying of his other recordings of the Seventh, and while it is missing most of the repetitions, it is a very good version for its time with vivid sound. Available on EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century."

SCORED FOR

2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings

© berlioz
 

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