Beethoven was to be known as a titan of the Romantic style, which was largely forged through the force of his acute ear and untamable personality. But the success of his arrival as composer at the turn of the 19th Century hinged on delivering a symphony in the style of his teacher, Joseph Haydn, and of the late lion of Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Not content to play it safe in his first symphony, Beethoven took chances right from the first chord. The work opens with a decidedly uncomfortable seventh chord begging to lead to another chord. The slow introduction tosses and teases before arriving at the home key and promptly launching into an Allegro con brio. Beethoven combines Haydn's electricity, Mozart's lyricism and his own wit into a remarkably fresh and mature symphony.
The second movement is a stately dance, rising and falling in melody and dynamic. The role for timpani is particularly striking. For the third movement, Beethoven sharpened his pencil and crafted a wildly chromatic and lithely undulating score. The trio section features fanciful interplay between calm winds and busy strings. The finale displays yet more wit, featuring the violins repeatedly aborting the melody as they creep further and further up the scale. When they finally arrive at the top, the other strings join in and the lively theme takes off.
The acknowledged musical authority of the time, the newspaper Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, commended the symphony's "considerable art, novelty and . . . wealth of ideas". Even more considerable is how richly Beethoven developed the symphony in eight more tries, and with what high esteem his First nevertheless continues to be programmed into concerts today.
© 2008 Tyler S. Clark
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