Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, 1827. The first performance of the “Pastoral” Symphony took place in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien on December 22, 1808, with the composer conducting. The “Pastoral” Symphony is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty-nine minutes.
Beethoven in the Country
How lucky you are, to be able to go soon to the country; I cannot enjoy that happiness until the 8th. I am happy as a child at the thought of wandering among the clusters of bushes, in the woods, among trees, herbs, rocks. No man loves the country more than I; for do not forests, trees, rocks re-echo that for which mankind longs.
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote these words to his friend Therese von Malfatti in May of 1810. Beethoven, who maintained a lifelong reverence for the beauties and mysteries of nature, extolled: “the ecstasy of the woods...every tree said to me, ‘Holy! Holy!’”
Englishman Charles Neate, a founder of London’s Philharmonic Society, spent considerable time with Beethoven in Vienna in 1815. Neate remarked that he had “never met anyone who so delighted in Nature, or so thoroughly enjoyed flowers or clouds or other natural objects. Nature was almost meat and drink to him; he seemed positively to exist upon it.” One of Beethoven’s favorite sayings was: “The morning air has gold to spare.” Beethoven often received musical inspiration during long walks in the countryside. Regardless of the weather, Beethoven rose early each morning and, with music sketchbook in hand, spent several hours outdoors.
“A recollection of country life”
The work Beethoven subtitled “Pastoral Symphony, or a recollection of country life,” is a symphonic ode to the wonders of the outdoors. By this stage of his life, Beethoven was increasingly unable to enjoy the sounds of nature he so touchingly and vividly portrays in the “Pastoral.” The continued decline of his hearing prompted this revelation in the October 1802 letter to his brothers, known as the Heiligenstadt Testament:
But how humiliated I have felt if somebody standing beside me heard the sound of a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or if somebody heard a shepherd sing and again I heard nothing—Such experiences almost made me despair, and I was on the point of putting an end to my life—The only thing that held me back was my art. For indeed it seemed to me impossible to leave this world before I had produced all the works I felt the urge to compose; and thus I have dragged on this miserable existence—a truly miserable existence...
However, there is no sense of despair in Beethoven’s “Pastoral,” the most lyrical of his Nine Symphonies.
There are several other factors that set the “Pastoral” Symphony apart from the other eight. It is the only Beethoven Symphony cast in five movements, as opposed to the traditional four. And while several of Beethoven’s Symphonies (notably the Third, Fifth, and Ninth) have extra-musical associations, the “Pastorale” is by far the most overtly programmatic, with each movement containing a descriptive title.
Beethoven cautioned that the “Pastoral” Symphony was “More an expression of feeling than a painting.” In his sketchbooks, Beethoven observed: “All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a failure.” And the vivid depictions of a murmuring brook, birdcalls, peasant dances, a violent thunderstorm, and a shepherd’s piping are but a part of the compelling symphonic experience.
The “Pastoral” Symphony is in five movements, each with a descriptive title. The first, Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arriving in the country (Allegro ma non troppo), opens with the first violins’ presentation of a sprightly melody that forms the basis for virtually the entire movement. Beethoven’s genius in thematic manipulation is perhaps never more apparent than in the development section, based in great part only upon a descending phrase derived from the second measure of the opening theme. The slow-tempo second movement, Scene by the brook (Andante molto moto) is Beethoven’s magical evocation of peacefully flowing waters, as well as the songs of birds nearby. The final three movements are played without pause. The Merry gathering of country-folk (Allegro) yields to a fierce Thunderstorm and Tempest (Allegro). The storm abates, and the finale opens with a brief passage for the clarinet and horn suggesting a ranz des vaches, the traditional herdsman’s call. Out of this passage emerges the principal melody, initially played by the first violins (Shepherd’s song. Happy, thankful feelings after the storm. Allegretto). The final measures feature a brief (muted) horn reprise of the ranz des vaches, capped by two fortissimo orchestral chords.
Program notes by Ken Meltzer