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“At this concert, I first saw Beethoven conduct. Often as I had heard of it, it surprised me extremely. He was accustomed to conveying the marks of expression by the most peculiar motions of his body. Thus at a sforzando he tore his arms, which were before crossed on his breast, violently apart. At a piano he crouched down, bending lower the softer the tone. At a crescendo he raised himself by degrees until at the forte he sprang up to his füll height; and, without knowing it, would often at the time shout aloud.” The first performance was a resounding success given the audience’s enthusiastic response to the work - three of the four movements had to be encored; nevertheless, the critics of the time remained baffled by this “incomprehensible” symphony. The composer, and sometimes music writer, Carl Maria von Weber dismissed it as the work of a madman. A London critic called it “a composition in which the author has indulged in a great deal of disagreeable eccentricity. Often as we now have heard it performed, we cannot yet discover any design in it; neither can we trace any connection in its parts. Altogether it seems to have been intended as a kind öf enigma - we almost said a hoax.” Making issue of the composer’s deafness, another critic would write: “...his compositions have partaken of the most incomprehensible wildness. His Imagination seems to have fed upon the ruins of his sensitive organs.” Incomprehensible perhaps might be the best word to describe the perceptions of the music critics of that day, as the work is now recognized as one of Beethoven’s finest achievements in the Symphonie realm. Marked Poco sostenuto, the introduction to the first movement is of striking beauty, yet based simply on the major scale, setting the stage for a movement of tremendous force and energy. The main body of the movement is marked Vivace and is built upon a sonata form. The main theme is ushered in on the pitch of E, exchanged from one Instrument to another 61 times before finally opening up to its full development. The movement concludes with an elaborate coda in which fragments of the main theme are heard with its characteristic rhythm, steadily growing from a pianissimo to a powerful fortissimo at the close. The march-like Allegretto, again with a steady rhythm, provides a major contrast. Originally Beethoven had intended this movement for the third “Rasumovsky” String Quartet, but rightly expanded it for this symphony. Following the development of Several counter-melodies, the clarinet announces a new melody that dispels the somber mood preceding it. The opening theme retums as the movement concludes. The third movement, a Scherzo marked Presto, is a charming example of lightness and grace. The main theme is full of humor and receives buoyant development. In the Trio (Assai rneno presto) the violins hold a high pitch against a pleasant melody said to be an old pilgrim chant of Southern Austria. The first part of the scherzo is repeated, as is the hymn, leading to the coda and joyful conclusion of the movement.
