jmc's classics
March 26 was the anniversary of Beethoven's death in 1827. His two most famous symphonies were his Fifth and Ninth. However, I like his Seventh (Opus#92) and Eighth (Opus#93) better. I have heard both the Fifth and Ninth. In both works they are only remembered for a few parts. Mainly the opening of the Fifth and the last part of the Ninth. However both works should be heard in their entirety.
Both the Seventh and Eighth were written in the early 1810's and were written in the Czech spa town of Teplitz which was at that time a resort town known for its natural springs. Today it is still known as a spa town. The Seventh in A Major dates from 1813. It is dedicated to Count Morita Von Fries who was an Austrian patron of the arts. Beethoven considered it to be one of his best works. The German composer Richard Wagner (181-1883) called this work "The apotheosis of dance". The British Conductor said of the third movement that "it sounds like a bunch of yaks jumping about" It is featured in various films including Mr. Holland's Opus and The King's Speech among others. It is in the standard four movements: Poco sostenuro ,Allegretto, Presto and Allegro con brio. It lasts about 40 minutes. When it premiered, the audience liked it and wanted an encore. The Eighth premiered on February 27, 1814. This one is in the key of F. Beethoven called it his "little F" to distinguish is from the Sixth which is also in F It is considered to be light hearted and some listeners would consider some of the notes to be musical jokes. The Hungarian-British conductor sand that the nickname for this symphony could be "Humorous". Personally I do not think that this is a funny symphony. I like the second and third movements. It is also in the standard four movements :Allegro vivace, Allegretto, Tempo di Menutto and Allegro vivace. It runs about 27 minutes-much shorter than the Seventh. It did not get the rave reviews that the Seventh did and evidently Beethoven did not like that. The contemporary American composer and writer Jan Swafford Described it as "a beautiful, brief ironic look at Mozart and Haydn" Also Schubert's Fifth is considered to be similar to Mozart's works. There are many excellent version of both symphonies. The one that I have is from the RCA series Basic 100. It features both works. It is of the Royal Philharmonic and Andre Previn. Another CD from this series that I have features works by Liszt. This is a good series for beginners. I also have another version of the Eighth. This one is coupled with the Fourth Symphony. It is of the Cleveland Orhcestra with Christopher Von Dohnanyi conducting. This is on the Telarc label. Both are excellent recordings.
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