Beethoven & His Seventh Symphony

By Brett McNeill

Prepared for Music 1010, Professor Craig Ferrin

The Life of Beethoven

▪ Childhood/Family Life

▪ Early Training

▪ Christian Gottlob Neefe

▪ Vienna

▪ Deafness

▪ Compositions

The Life of Beethoven

Childhood/Family Life

▪ Believed to have been born on December 16, 1770 though only

record is that of his baptism the following day3

Born to Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena

Father was a court singer for the Electorate of Cologne

Had two younger brothers

The Life of Beethoven

Early Training

▪ His father used sleep deprivation among other tactics to force young Ludwig to train for extra hours

▪ Was hoped to be the next child prodigy in the vein of Mozart

▪ His first public performance March 26, 1778 was billed as a "little son of six years" though he was seven

The Life of Beethoven

Christian Gottlob Neefe

▪ Christian Gottlob Neefe appointed court organist

▪ Neefe’s appointment represented cultural transformation of Bonn

▪ Beethoven quit school in 1781 to study music full time under Neefe

▪ Published first work under neefe

– Nine Variations on a March by Dressler

▪ Neefe introduced him to the music of Mozart and Bach

The Life of Beethoven

Vienna

▪ Study under Haydn for a short while

▪ First visit was cut short due to mother’s sickness

▪ Won the hearts of aristocracy here and earned

▪ Met Mozart on first visit to Vienna

– Mozart said Beethoven would “make a great name for himself”

The Life of Beethoven

Deafness

▪ First signs of deafness around end of 18th century

▪ Increasingly avoided being social

▪ Wrote Heilgenstadt Testament to reveal

Difficulty in dealing with impending deafness

▪ Was completely deaf in 1819

▪ Composed Ninth Symphony and other

Works after complete loss of hearing

The Life of Beethoven

Compositions

Opera

Sym

phon

ies

Solo C

once

rti

Strin

g Qua

rtets

Strin

g So

nata

s

Pian

o So

nata

s

Pian

o Var

iatio

ns

Overtu

res

Trios

Sext

ets

Song

s0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

16 4 5 6 7 5 4 4 2

72

Composition of the “middle” or “heroic” period

Symphony

No.

7

Movement 1

Poco Sostenuto – Vivace

History and Listening Guide

Symphony No. 7

History – Meaning

▪ Argued as being an anticipatory piece relating to love

▪ Some thought it was written representing his “Immortal Love”

▪ Beethoven had several love interests throughout his life

▪ He often was is love with a woman above his station

Symphony No. 7

History – Occasion

▪ Written between 1811 and 1812

▪ Premiered December 8, 1813 at a benefit concert for soldiers

▪ Johann Nepomuk Malzel, the inventor of the metronome, convinced Beethoven to donate his significant abilities to the event

▪ Another of Beethoven’s works, Wellington’s Victory, was also played at the concert and to Beethoven’s dismay, took the spotlight

▪ The second movement, Allegretto, was immediately popular and immediately encored

Symphony No. 7

History – Critiques

▪ Wagner called this symphony “the apotheosis of the dance”

▪ An anonymous quote: “In the Seventh Symphony, we have an epic expression, not of romantic love per se so much as of the vibrantly forward-looking and joyously celebratory outlook that fills the heart and mind and limbs of one who is immersed in such a love.”

▪ A 20 bar chromatic passage in the coda inspired Carl Maria von Weber to say Beethoven was “fit for a madhouse”

▪ Overshadowed by immensely popular 5th and 9th symphonies but still a masterful work of music

Symphony No. 7

Movement 1 – Listening Guide▪ 0:01 – This movement starts out with a loud single burst of a chord that dies away to make way

for a clarinet that holds a sustained and fluid melody. After two measures, another chord hits and a flute joins the clarinet with a harmony. Two more measures and another chord that make way for a French horn to accompany the clarinet. These warm textures complement each other and the legato feel. Two measures more and a low horn round off the first expression on the first theme.

▪ 0:35 – The theme is repeated but the chord on the downbeat is replaced by 16 note ascending scale played by the strings. The melody is now played by harmonizing French horn and a trumpet.

▪ 0:50 – The third ascending scale is marked by a one measure crescendo that repeats after the downbeat and the beginning of the third phrase of the melody. The whole orchestra is utilized now as the violins play the melody, the woodwinds and the brass and percussion emphasize the downbeat every second measure and the low strings play the ascending scales. This pattern plays a total of four times.

▪ 1:23 – Theme A enters with a light melody on the woodwinds with strings accompanying and leading every other measure in. This is an eight measure section.

Symphony No. 7

Movement 1 – Listening Guide

▪ 1:48 – This theme is repeated for two measures with the strings on the melody and woodwinds backing. A crescendo begins after three measures.

▪ 2:07 - The first variation on Theme A begins again. Ascending scales leading to large first beat emphasis by percussion and deep brass. This variation also emphasizes the third beat of every measure, building intensity.

▪ 2:32 – A decrescendo over two beats rolls back the intensity to repeat theme B.

▪ 2:59 – The first variation of theme B begins but after two measures begins a transition where the peak melody climbs and gives the sense of building intensity. The volumes slowly builds to a mezzo-forte staccato chord.

▪ 3:20 – The strings play a consistent pedal tone for the flute to play a melody over with horns harmonizing.

▪ 3:33 – Flute and strings begin alternating an octave apart leading into the key change for the Vivace section.

Symphony No. 7

Movement 1 – Listening Guide

▪ 4:00 – The next section is introduced on the flute, the tone major and the melody is spirited. The strings and horns and woodwinds are softly emphasizing downbeats.

▪ 4:29 - The first markedy dance rhythmic theme begins in complex duple meter. Violin is on the melody. This tone is very fun and hopeful.

▪ 4:45 – Strings are playing melody and the woodwinds are echoing, this peaks at 4:56 and quiets down significantly.

▪ 5:07 – The second theme of the Vivace section plays with violins on melody and violas and playing quick descending phrases while the melody holds out.

▪ 5:13 – Two measures of Staccato to transition out of this theme.

▪ 5:39 – A minor sounding phrase begins on the strings that leads to a build and crescendo.

▪ 5:51 – This is my favorite motif in the whole of the first movement. The violins are playing what sound like 16th note triplets and only play a single note for two measures and drop down a note for two more measures. The brass is underlying with descending arpeggios. This is repeated once.

Symphony No. 7

Movement 1 - Listening Guide▪ 6:06 – A variation of the first theme is played. The second half of the melody is

replaced with a three note staccato phrase. Low strings are now playing very quickly underneath the violin and give a feeling of moving quickly forward.

▪ 6:29 – The intro to the Vivace is repeated here with the flute playing melody. This marks a repetition of the whole of the Vivace to this point.

▪ 8:53 – The coda begins here playing with the idea that the Vivace might be repeated but instead moving on.

▪ 9:03 - A melodic arch is repeated in round starting with the low strings followed by the violins, then the violas, then the clarinets and the flutes.

▪ 9:21 – The brass and woodwinds are playing a bouncy and dancing rhythm for the strings to play a descending melody over.

▪ 9:50 – The dancing rhythm is played upon still with different sections alternating playing descending phrases.

Symphony No. 7

Movement 1 - Listening Guide

▪ 10:05 – A building and ascending feeling begins here where violins and the lower strings alternates playing ascending phrases, holding out the peak while the other section plays.

▪ 10:25 – With the dance feel intact the tone turns minor for a few measures.

▪ 10:53 – The first theme of the vivace is reintroduced here with unique emphasizing from the brass, woodwind and percussion sections.

▪ 11:25 – A clarinet plays the last theme with subtle minor tone changes. The clarinet was an excellent instrument for this tone because of the warm but firm timbre.

▪ 12:07 – The second theme from the vivace is played here with quick descending phrases from the violas in between the violins melody. The rest of the orchestra has a bounce about it still in theme with the dance rhythm.

▪ 12:39 – A minor sounding motif that slowly climbs in volume and intensity which leads into the same motif as at time 5:51 in the Vivace.

▪ 13:06 – A variation on the first theme from the Vivace.

Symphony No. 7

Movement 1 - Listening Guide

▪ 13:19 – All Sections building off each other in three note phrases.

▪ 13:38 – Chromatic bass lines underneath multiple variations of melody played by the violins.

▪ 14:05 – Three note ascending phrases that pull the listener out of the dissonant feeling of the previous section and give a definite major tone.

▪ 14:28 – The brass section holds the melody in triumphant fashion, three notes at a time still.

▪ 14:32 – The whole orchestra descends with three note phrase for five times and ends with three chords all hit briefly, ending on the third.

Bibliography

▪ Ron Drummand. Program Notes. http://www.nwsinfonietta.com/notes3Oct03.htm. n.p. October 4, 2003. Web. October 2, 2014.

▪ Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 In A Major, Opus 92. http://www.sfsymphony.org/. n.p. n.d. Web. October 2, 2014.

▪ Lane, William. Beethoven: The Immortal. http://lucare.com/immortal/index.html. January 6, 2006. Web. October 2,2014

▪ Ludwig van Beethoven. http://www.britannica.com/. Web. October 2, 2014.

▪ Ludwig van Beethoven. www.biography.com. Web. October 2, 2014.