2nd symphony (Beethoven)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ludwig van Beethoven composed his 2nd symphony in D major , op. 36 , in 1801/02 and conducted the premiere himself as part of his academy on April 5, 1803 in the Theater an der Wien .

Time of origin

The Beethoven researcher Armin Raab cites the time between summer 1800 and February 1802 for the creation of sketches. Beethoven worked on the symphony until April 1802. There may have been a makeover before it was released.

In literature, the 2nd symphony and its creation is considered an important testimony to Beethoven's internal struggles. He composed the work when he was beginning to become deaf. And there is also a suspicion of a connection to the Heiligenstadt Testament , which Beethoven wrote in the autumn of 1802. At that point, however, work on the symphony was largely complete.

The overwhelmingly positive statement of the symphony could possibly be explained by the fact that Beethoven had the hope of being cured. While he was working, he wrote to his friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler on November 16, 1801: "I want to grab fate by the throat, it should certainly not bend me down completely."

Orchestral line-up

2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 2 horns , 2 trumpets , timpani in D and A, strings in 5 parts (1st and 2nd violins , violas , cellos , double basses )

Sentence names

  1. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio
  2. Larghetto
  3. Scherzo. Allegro
  4. Allegro molto

analysis

Beethoven, 2nd symphony: 1st Adagio molto - Allegro con brio , Tsumugi Orchestra, Takashi Inoue
Beethoven, 2nd Symphony: 2nd Larghetto , Tsumugi Orchestra, Takashi Inoue
Beethoven, 2nd Symphony: 3rd Scherzo. Allegro Trio , Tsumugi Orchestra, Takashi Inoue
Beethoven, 2nd symphony: 4th Allegro molto , Tsumugi Orchestra, Takashi Inoue

The development of the symphonic technique since the 1st symphony is clear in the whole work: although the works are very similar melodically and in character, in the second the vocal guidance in the accompanying parts is more independent, the forms and movements more extensive and the thematic work more concentrated . The slow movement in particular, which is a complete and carefully executed main sonata form , is of an unheard-of length for the time. In this symphony Beethoven finally introduces the scherzo instead of the minuet as the third movement. A stylistic closeness to Haydn and Mozart, i.e. to decidedly Viennese music (Beethoven was born in the Rhineland) is still abundantly clear here, almost recognizable as a homage to the two great Viennese, as an emulation, e.g. B. on conspicuous sixth chords and through the thematically blatant wood group. In contrast, the Scherzo and Finale in particular already have a typically "broad" Beethoven sound richness, i. H. a comparatively dense (rumbling) chord.

1st movement (Adagio molto - Allegro con brio)

The first movement conveys (surprisingly unbroken and unanimous by Beethoven's standards) joie de vivre and euphoria. According to the slow introduction, it is monothematic. However, the head of the topic (woodwind 4 bars tonic “questioning” and tutti 4 bars semi-conclusive “answering”) is exposed quite late in its clear form, in m. 73, but unmistakably as such. Everything before bar 73 already points to this figure, gradually allowing it to emerge from the fog, so to speak. In any case, before m. 73 one cannot speak of independent material of a supposed first theme, especially since no dialogue is composed with a supposed second theme, neither before nor after the repetition marks. Anticipating, as well as following after the exposition of the main idea, either everything is derived from this (characteristic staccato quarters), or otherwise non-binding material that introduces or concludes. So Beethoven composes neither two contrasting themes nor at least two clearly discreet variants of a main idea, but rather a “smooth transition” from prologising, associative variants of a theme figure to its original figure, and epilogising back again (to the repetition signs).

2nd movement (Larghetto)

The movement is a slow but dance-like movement (minuet-like). It is also a dance movement insofar as it instead strings together clearly defined topic sections that work directly through the thematic material. Accordingly, there are no "implementing" sections (expanding or breaking off splits / sequencing, key fluctuations, etc.).

3rd movement (Scherzo. Allegro)

The brief Scherzo is particularly effective through dynamic and instrumental contrasts. In influenced by the winds, ländler like Trio the basic key (D-Dur) is unusually maintain the symphony.

4th movement (Allegro molto)

The distinctive opening gesture of the final movement with a trill figure and a large interval jump is similar to the main theme of the first movement of Mozart's Haffner symphony . The movement follows the sonata form , but by repeating the main theme at the beginning of the development and the coda gains traces of a rondo . The extension of the coda is striking, expanding the traditional three-part sonata movement to a four-part structure with almost 250 bars. A kind of second development is followed by several increases based on the secondary theme, interrupted by effective fermatas and general pauses.

literature

  • Wulf Konold : Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36. In: ders. (Ed.): Lexicon Orchestermusik Klassik A – K. Schott, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-7957-8224-4 , pp. 15-17.
  • Armin Raab: Second Symphony in D major, op. 36. Analysis and essay. In: Renate Ulm (Ed.): The 9 symphonies of Beethoven. Origin, interpretation, effect. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1994 (1st edition), ISBN 3-7618-1241-8 .
  • Arnold Werner-Jensen: Ludwig van Beethoven. Music guide . Reclam, Leipzig 2001.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ludwig van Beethoven, Correspondence. Complete edition , ed. by Sieghard Brandenburg , Volume 1, Munich 1996, p. 89

Web links