Composed: 1812
Premiered: 1814, Vienna
Duration: 26 minutes

Beethoven sketched and completed his seventh and eighth symphonies in rapid succession in 1811 and 1812, at the end of the most productive 10 years of his life. In a very large number of works, he had explored the ramifications of the classical forms of Mozart and Haydn. This process reached its ultimate climax in these two symphonies. For the next several years, in a state of despondency and emotional turmoil, Beethoven composed very little; when he returned to composition, his works were of a different kind – much more tranquil and frequently in new, unfamiliar forms.

The Eighth Symphony has puzzled many hearers. Some see it as a trifle, a bit of relaxation after the mighty Seventh, while others regard it as a powerful, though very concise masterpiece. Beethoven was bitter about the reception of this work at its premiere, when it was played after the Seventh. He remarked that the audience was cool “because it is so much better” (although on another occasion he said that he regarded the Seventh as one of his best works). Many, including Beethoven himself, have mentioned its witticisms: abrupt changes of key, dynamic, and orchestral colour – which in some contexts would be regarded as dramatic – here appear comical. After a vigorous opening movement, the second is a fairly brisk allegretto instead of the usual slow movement. The accompaniment of its principal theme is said to mimic the tick-tock of the metronome, a recent innovation in 1812. After this, instead of the rapid scherzo which had become Beethoven’s usual third movement, we have an easygoing minuet in the manner of the previous century. And finally, a boisterous finale, with some outrageous key relationships, and an almost absurdly pompous ending: 23 bars of tonic-dominant thumping – enough for the ending of a symphony twice the length of this miniature.

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.