Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony no. 7 in A

Beethoven’s Seventh has a peculiar fascination which is hard to resist. Like the Fifth Symphony, its themes are not distinguished, but Beethoven somehow makes them beguiling. The powerful rhythms, the dramatic dynamics, contrasts and momentum, the composer’s incomparable craftmanship and wonderful orchestration combine to make it one of his finest works.

Richard Wagner held it in particularly high esteem, "All tumult, all yearning and storming of the heart, become here the blissful insolence of joy, which carries us away with bacchanalian power through the roomy space of nature, through all the streams and seas of life, shouting in glad self-consciousness as we sound throughout the universe the daring strains of this human sphere-dance. The Symphony is the Apotheosis of the Dance itself: it is Dance in its highest aspect, the loftiest deed of bodily motion, incorporated into an ideal mold of tone." Wagner’s hyperbole has persisted and the Seventh is forever burdened with the exaggerated notion in some minds that the music is as well suited for the ballet stage as for the concert hall. The ever-loquacious Tovey neither agreed nor disagreed with Wagner but used the first page of his brief analysis to dispel the notion the symphony is anything but pure music. The present writer will let the listeners decide for themselves. If it makes you want to dance in the aisles, good for you; have at it!

Having flaunted convention by writing five movements in his programmatic Sixth Symphony, Beethoven resumed the customary four movement format. The first movement (vivace) begins with an extraordinarily long introduction, poco sostenuto (literally translated as “a little sustained”). It is laced with dramatic proclamations and scale runs which clearly anticipate something exciting is about to happen. And it does! The following vivace is happy dance-like music which no doubt inspired the Wagner soliloquy. The powerful second movement, marked allegretto (briskly), is sometimes mistakenly slowed to the point of making it sound funereal. In ternary form, the introductory theme serves through the beginning and ending sections as either a subject for variation or as an ostinato around which secondary subjects are woven. But Beethoven is never boringly repetitive and the contrasting middle section provides the necessary relief. This movement proved so popular at its premiere in 1813 that the audience demanded it be repeated.

The scherzo is an A-B-A-B-A structure, the outer and middle sections of which are a galloping presto; but it is the eloquent trio which is most moving, building to the most impressive climaxes of the symphony. What can one say about the finale except that it is another exciting and inspiring conclusion, surpassed perhaps by that of the Ninth Symphony but ranking in exuberance with the endings of the Third and Fifth symphonies. If any doubts linger we are in a different musical era from the days of Mozart and Haydn, this finale (and the whole symphony) puts them emphatically to rest.

The symphony was premiered in Vienna in December 1813 at a benefit concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau on October 30-31. The battle resulted from an attempt to block retreating French forces badly mauled in Russia and at the Battle of Leipzig (October 16-19). The French were victorious at Hanau and resumed their withdrawal to temporary safety.