Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)

Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major (Op. 21).

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Beethoven began work on the symphony in 1799 and completed it a year later. The first performance, under the composer's direction, took place on April 2, 1800 in the National-Hof-Theater in Vienna and was a great success.

Related Topics:
1799 - 1800 - Vienna

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The symphony is dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer.

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It is about 28 minutes long. There are four movements:

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• Adagio molto -- Allegro con brio
• Andante cantabile con moto
• Menuetto (Allegro molto e vivace)
• Adagio -- Allegro molto e vivace

The scoring is for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 timpani, and the usual string section of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.

Related Topics:
Flute - Oboe - Clarinet - Bassoon - Horn - Trumpet - Timpani - Violin - Viola - Cello - Double bass

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The symphony is clearly indebted to Beethoven's Classical predecessors, particularly his teacher Haydn, but nonetheless has characteristics that clearly mark it as Beethoven's work, notably the frequent use of the dynamic sforzando.

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The opening of the first movement is a musical joke: it consists of a sequence of dominant-tonic chord sequences in the wrong key, so that the listener only gradually realizes the real key of the symphony. The third movement is remarkable in that although it is marked Menuetto, it is so fast that its ostensibly a Scherzo. The finale opens with another joke, the adagio consists of slowly-played partial scales before the full C-major scale marks the start of the allegro.

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