Beethoven’s second symphony was composed in the key of D major. The piece was composed between 1801 and 1802 and was dedicated to Karl Alois, then Chamberlain of the Roya Austrian Court. The symphony was composed in standard symphonic form, consisting of four movements with the entire work lasting around forty minutes.

The 1st movement, Adagio molto, begins with a slow, somber theme. This theme then develops into a more pronounced and lively section with the tempo suddenly changing to an Allegro con brio. The Allegro section sees a modification in its key as the work suddenly sees a shift in B-flat major. The theme relies heavily on the winds section being able to constantly maintain strong tones and vocal vibrations. Starting at measure 229, there is a type of recapitulation that can be heard establishing itself in the dominant key. A Coda can be heard later recapturing the moods of the previous clause.

The second movement, Larghetto, plays in the Dominant key of D major, A major. The thematic material of the second movement can be seen as a very pleasant and nature-like dance. The strings accompany the winds in a series of arpeggiating figures causing a rift in that same thematic material. This movement, like most of Beethoven’s other works, is written in Sonata form, or ternary form, with the main theme being played, developed, and then returned to.

The third movement is a Scherzo, a fast and tricky movement. The woodwinds play a very large role in this movement, especially that of the low winds, the bassoons. There is a lot of harmonic development that can be heard from the bassoons and they begin to tie into the themes played by the other instruments.

Finally, the fourth movement of the Symphony is an Allegro molto. The entire premise of this movement is composed of a very rapid string phrase that continuously run up and down. Their playing is accompanied by the brass lending them a hand in the dominant tune. Throughout the movement, there are many fluctuations in dynamics. Critics believe this to be Beethoven alluding to his slowly diminishing health.

Musicologist, Robert Greenberg, described the movement as “Beethoven’s gastric problems, particularly in times of great stress – like the fall of 1802 – were legendary. … It has been understood almost since the day of its premiere that that is what this music is all about. Beethoven never refuted it; in fact, he must have encouraged it. Otherwise, how could such an interpretation become common coin? And common coin it is.”

Ludwig van Beethoven was a master of the art and arguably the most influential figure to classical music of all time. His music demonstrated a type of flexibility, variation, and artistic craftsmanship that was never before seen at the time and seems almost impossible to replicate now. Current music scholars and theorists have spent the better part of their lives analyzing and trying to understand what one man accomplished in half a century. In his fifty active years of composing and music making, Beethoven synthesized nine symphonies (ten if considering the final, unfinished work), each a powerhouse in its own right. In the coming weeks, we will be investigating each of his elaborate symphonies, breaking apart the audio we hear and trying to use the scores the make comparisons to his own personal life.

Beethoven’s first symphony in C major premiered in April of 1800 in Vienna, Austria, the capital of classical music. The entire symphony has an approximate duration of half an hour, the shortest of all his symphonies in terms of time span. Upon beginning the first movement, we see a distinct similarity in the writing of Beethoven and his previous mentors, Haydn and Mozart.

The intro to the first movement begins with a lengthy twelve measure figure. The strings lead with transitioning tonic-dominant chord progressions with supporting winds remaining on tonic continuos.

The second movement, Andante, begins in F major, relating as the subdominant tone of the original key. The second movement is particularly interesting as it displays a wide variety of instrumental melodic shifts, especially coming from the woodwind section.

The third movement, indicated as Menuetto, is essentially played at the tempo of a running scherzo movement. The movement predominantly uses linear scalar and triad motions to demonstrate instrumental and musical fluidity.

Finally, the finale opens with an intro of fragmented scales composed of mostly violins. The pitch notion of the movement outlines a dominant 7th chord in C major.

Upon investigating the entire work, we can also witness a strategic writing form that Beethoven and his predecessors used in their music. Especially the case with Mozart, sonata form was predominantly used in the classical time period. In each case, the music begins with a theme (A section) that grows and develops with an audience until it begins instantly recognizable in any given situation. The movement then transitions to a development (B section) and further develops the main theme with alterations in pitch, tone, and rhythm. Finally, it returns back to the A section and repeats the theme, synthesizing the entire work into one piece.

This “sonata form” is especially worth mentioning as it had a tremendous influence on American Jazz music and has essentially shaped all the pop and modern music we hear today!

Audio Included:

Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Major

Mo Bamba by Sheck Wes (listen for “sonata form” and similarities with Beethoven)