Ajewel of musical listening pleasure”, “Beethoven taken seriously”,
“Not just any thousandth variant”, “Finally a
Beethoven for music-lovers”: the international press was
full of praise when Bertrand de Billy and the Radio
Symphony Orchestra Vienna presented Beethoven’s
“Eroica” Symphony on OehmsClassics. With the
Fifth and Sixth (“Pastorale”), two of Beethoven’s most
popular symphonies have now been released. Bertrand
de Billy’s fundamental premise is absolute fidelity to
the score, which includes absolute observance of the
original tempo markings in order to preserve the proportions
of the works.
While the Fifth Symphony is shaped by its famous
four-note motive and develops from darkness into a
final light, the Pastorale is considered to be among
the most important pieces of program music ever
written. Storm, birdcalls or brusque peasants’ dance –
Beethoven’s score bubbles over with ideas.
From the stars of freedom to the morals of emotion
Remarks on Beethoven’s 5th and 6th Symphonies
With the 5 th and 6 th Symphonies, we come
straight to the center of Ludwig van
Beethoven’s symphonic creations. The
path chosen by Beethoven with his “Eroica”
now manifests itself; the links, cross-connections,
conflicts and thematically purposeful
contrasts or cross-references within the
individual works, and even the individual
symphonies to each other, can hardly be unraveled.
Beethoven made some first sketches
for the 5th Symphony in C Minor while he was
working on the “Eroica”. He interrupted this
work to write the 4th Symphony in B-flat Major,
finally returning to the 5th to complete it
for its premiere in fall 1807. Parallel to this
he composed the apparently so different 6th
Symphony in F Major, which later became
famous under the title “Pastorale”. The word
‘parallel’ must be taken literally: at the time
of the “Pastorale’s” premiere it was even sometimes
known as the “5th Symphony”.
As a matter of fact, at the premiere of both
works, which took place in that music-historically
unique “Academy” on December 22, 1808
in the Theater an der Wien, the “Pastorale”
was played first. Only at quite a late hour that
evening did listeners hear Beethoven’s 5th as
the penultimate work on the program. A great
deal has been written and speculated about
the flowing into one another of the composer’s
essential works and about the various
‘pairs’ he created – particularly the 5th and 6th
Symphonies on the one hand and the 7th and
8th immediately following this. It can likewise
not be ignored that the “odd-numbered” symphonies
3, 5 and 7 – often described as having
a heroic character – are followed by the “evennumbered”
symphonies 4, 6 and 8, with their
calmer, friendlier and to some extent more humorous
characters. We will not philosophize
further about this here, although such study
does reveal essential information. At least in
the case of the two symphonies at hand, however,
we will make some concrete observations
that touch upon these ideas again.
Symphony No. 5
We have already mentioned the key dates of
this work: first sketches circa 1803, premiere
1808. The fact that even the “Eroica” sketches
contain first drafts for the Symphony in C
Minor (particularly the famous beginning
motive) is significant. The similarity between
the characters of the 5th Symphony and the
“Eroica” is likewise evident; there is a connection
between this and their temporal
proximity. Viewing Beethoven’s overall symphonic
output makes it obvious that it must
have been more than coincidence that he created
the buoyant and lyrical 4th Symphony in
B-flat Major between the colossal 3rd and 5th
symphonies. Similar to the “Bonaparte” cliché
connected to the “Eroica”, we must confront
another cliché found in connection with the
5th Symphony: the idea of it as a “Symphony
of Fate”. That the first measures depict pitiless
fate knocking on someone’s door is a
matter of mystification and does not withstand
any serious revision. Like the 3rd Symphony,
the 5th is entirely conceived towards
the Finale; this is accentuated even more in
the 5 th Symphony due to the uninterrupted
attacca connection between the fourth and
fifth movement. Just as the Prometheustheme
dominates and finds its fullest
expression
in the last movement of the “Eroica”, the
‘explanation’ of the 5th Symphony’s ‘sub-text’
cannot be found until the work’s Finale.
Let us now look at the famous first motive
of the 1st movement (Allegro con brio) – perhaps
the most famous opening of any symphony
ever. As mentioned above, the earliest
sketches for this motive belong to Beethoven’s
very first occupation with the symphony. Numerous
interesting studies are dedicated to
the development of the sketches and investigating
the form of Beethoven’s motive. These
studies clearly show the great degree to which
Beethoven’s conception for the overall structure
of the movement began with this motive,
or conversely, how this motive in the end dictated
the movement’s entire form. The second
theme of the 1st movement is directly related
to the main motive. It can even be asserted
with some legitimacy that this first movement
develops monothematically, which is shown
by its lapidary brevity as well as tightness. An
analysis of the movement makes the sonata
form perfectly clear: exposition – development
– recapitulation – coda. But Beethoven
never lets form dictate content – on the contrary:
form must serve substance at all levels.
Sketches of the compositional process show
how Beethoven systematically works in irregularities
and irritations in the force and urgent
character of this unique movement.
But there are also formal parallels to the
“Eroica”. The recapitulation is shortened;
the coda, however, is lengthened to such an
extent that it almost takes on the character
of a second development. A second moment
in the movement may also have provided
contemporaneous listeners with a problem:
in measure 268, the oboe intones an almost
plaintive motive whose Adagio tempo is in
great contrast to the primary Allegro con brio
tempo. This opposition between the pressing
main tempo and a retarding element within
the movement only achieves Beethoven’s intended
effect when the movement is played
in a very fast tempo, according to Beethoven’s
wish, (and when the repeats for the exposition
are taken seriously, particularly in the 4th
movement, which is all too often neglected).
After the nothing less than fanatical and
stormy 1st movement expressivity, Beethoven
introduces – at first glance – a calming element
with his 2nd movement, an Andante, though
with the postscript con moto. In contrast to
the 1st movement, the 2nd is a theme and variations
– here, a theme followed by three variations.
But the fundamental character of the
symphony is never departed from. As lyrically
as the theme begins, the movement regains the
symphony’s overall expression of determined
energy at the latest with the fanfare in measure
29. It is not until the 4th movement, however,
that we learn the meaning and resolution of
this fanfare. Despite the theme-and-variation
form of the 2nd movement, there are hints of
sonata form. The symphony’s overall concept
did not allow Beethoven to shape this movement
in a simple and formal linear fashion,
and the 2nd variation thus has a certain resemblance
to a development.
The 3rd movement, Allegro, single-mindedly
continues its inexorable path to the finale.
This recording presents a reading of the work
that is different from (almost) every previous
one. Nearly all scores available today show
the 3rd movement as a tripartite form with
a long transition that seamlessly moves into
the Finale. Most analyses of the movement
are based on this form. After a long period of
study and many practical trials, however, Bertrand
de Billy, the conductor of this recording,
has decided to follow the version published
by Peter Gülke in 1978, which lays out the
3rd movement in five parts. The confusion on
this point was created by the composer himself,
because the original manuscript provides
evidence for a five-part form, as opposed to
the parts used at the premiere and the first
printed music – which, however, contained
surplus measures remaining from the five-part
layout. And as though these conflicting materials
weren’t enough, an exchange of confusing
letters between Beethoven and his publisher
concerning the deletion or retention of these
surplus measures also exists.
Neither the existing music nor the exchange
of letters has been able to clear up this
question with all finality. It is thus up to the
interpreter to decide which path to follow – if
he or she seriously wishes to be the “composer’s
advocate” (Erich Leinsdorf ) or act as the
“double” of the composer (René Leibowitz).
Bertrand de Billy has not only studied the
material and all argumentation in depth, but
tried out both versions in concert on many occasions
as well, coming to the conclusion that
the five-part layout must have been Beethoven’s
actual intention. His performances of the five
part form of the 3rd movement have showed
him that this form is much more logical in
regard to the symphony’s overall structure as
well as the logic of the 3rd movement itself.
In addition, all works that Beethoven wrote
around the time of the 5th Symphony also show
a five-part form (not only the 4th, 6th and 7th
Symphonies, but practically all great chamber
music works from that time).
In the present form, the 3rd movement
appears in the formal sequence A (minor)-B
(major)-A-B-A’. This arrangement develops
so: as of measure 239, the first part of the
movement is repeated in its entirety, from
measure five onwards. The movement begins
in pianissimo with a phrase played unisono
by the cellos and contrabasses. From measure
6 on, this phrase is continued by the remaining
strings – also expressly in pianissimo –
supported by the horn, bassoon and clarinet.
The section ends with a fermata. The same
motive begins again, stopping once more at
the fermata as if hanging in mid-air, only to
be interrupted by a boastful horn fanfare.
The close relationship of this gesture in particular
with the introductory motive of the
1st movement is unmistakable. In the Trio,
Beethoven now counters the fanfare with
a fugato that begins unisono in the lower
strings and which at times simply bristles
with rhythmic peculiarities. This continues
the conscious unrest of the 1st and 2nd movements,
which only resolves in the Finale.
The movement does not close with a repetition
of the A section. Instead, we find here
one of Beethoven’s most exciting inspirations
ever: a variation that directly transitions into
the Finale, and which is known to have developed
only at a very late stage in the master’s
compositional process. To achieve this, however,
Beethoven had to condense the movement
much earlier than was conventional –
in the second part of the Trio – in order to
pave the way into the Finale instead of back
to the Scherzo. The elaboration of the fifth
part (in this version) can almost be seen as a
reduction of the Scherzo material to its most
basic form. First, one senses the change between
bowed and plucked tones. The violins
– in contrast to the violas – then retain the
pizzicato until the rhythm, which is clearly
reminiscent of the symphony’s opening motive,
can only be perceived as a pianissimo in
the tympani. Then come the long ppp tones
in the strings until a vague movement develops
that also warns of the opening motive.
In the last eight measures, a crescendo develops
that is brusquely interrupted with the
first fortissimo attacca entry of the Finale.
“Per aspera ad astra” – literally: one achieves
the stars through toil [hardness], or more freely:
“through night to the light”. This could be
the motto of the entire symphony, which now
culminates in the C Major Finale. The previous
instrumentation is now complemented by
a piccolo, three trombones and a contrabassoon.
Formally, the 4th movement is again a
four-part sonata form. But in contrast to the
almost monothematic severity and exceptional
brevity of the first movement, Beethoven’s imagination
now overflows. He takes all his time
developing the themes: alone the exposition,
with its main theme, secondary theme, second
subject group and stretto close, take up 85
measures. This is followed in the development
primarily by his treatment of the secondary
theme. Before the recapitulation, however,
Beethoven inserts a reminiscence of the horn
motive and the transition of the Scherzo. The
longest part of the movement is now taken
up by the 110 measures of the recapitulation,
which finally flow into the two-part coda
with its famous, seemingly never-ending final
chords.
The sudden wealth of the material and
extent of its treatment lead us into the subject
of the relationship of this work to music
of the French Revolution – a notion particularly
advanced in Peter Gülke’s analysis. As
early as the 1920s, Arnold Schmitz pointed
out Beethoven’s ties to Cherubini, Gossec
and other French composers of revolutionary
times. Gülke shows that Beethoven directly
composed the code word of the French Revolution,
“La liberté!” into the 5th Symphony,
taking this directly from Rouget de l’Isle’s (the
composer of the Marseillaise) “Hymne dithyrambique”.
It is not the place here to discuss
the question whether or not Beethoven quoted
this consciously or simply created it in the
spirit of French revolutionary music (Gülke).
The intent remains essential, and above all, the
fact that the entire symphony rushes towards
this Finale. In the 2nd movement there are
already references to the music that will lead
to the absolutely unrestrained frenzy of “la
liberté” in the Finale: the dolce A-flat Major
theme in the woodwinds is interrupted with
fortissimo by the rest of the orchestra, which
carries the movement to its vehement C Major
end. This “liberté” fury begins building up
for the first time from measure 4 on. It appears
in the development completely unassumingly
in the cellos, only little by little taking over
the lead in order to dance into the conclusion
with “dithyrambic joy” (Gülke).
Symphony No. 6
We know with relative certainty that
Beethoven’s “Pastorale” was written from the
summer months of 1807 until early 1808. Although
the “Eroica” sketch-book from 1803
also contains individual sketches for this
symphony, there are no notes referring to a
concrete symphonic plan. This must have
developed parallel to when Beethoven was
working out the 5th Symphony. The designation
“Pastorale” refers to the phenomenon of
describing nature with musical means that
was thoroughly prevalent in Beethoven’s
time. Beethoven thus is yet another composer
in a long tradition that can be traced
back to the begin of the 17th century. And he
was thoroughly conscious of examples from
music history as well as in the works of his
contemporaries. Many can be found, e.g. in
the works of Telemann, Handel, Vivaldi or
Bach, and of course in Haydn’s oratorios,
which Beethoven certainly knew.
But the composer’s subtitle to his 6 th
Symphony: “more an expression of sensation
than of painting”, emphasizes that he did not
intend any naturalistic depiction of nature
with musical means. However, the main title
of this work, “Pastoral – Symphony or Recollections
of Country Life”, as well as the titles
Beethoven gave each individual movement
contradict this. There are historical parallels
to this practice as well. In 1791, for example,
one finds an several-movement organ work
by Justinus Heinrich Knecht entitled “The
shepherds’ bliss, interrupted by a thunderstorm”,
which has movements similar to Beethoven’s:
“I. The shepherds’ bliss in pleasant, abundantly
changing songs; II. The gradual approach of
the thunderstorm, which announces itself with
both thunder from afar as well as with humid
air (expressed by drab harmonies) and which
disturbs the happy songs of the shepherds; III.
The intense outbreak of the thunderstorm itself,
during which the shepherds’ songs can be heard
with a wailing sound; IV. The slow departure
of the same and the following clearing up of the
air; V. The continuation and resolution of the
previously interrupted happy shepherds’ songs.”
One year before this, in 1784, Knecht had
composed a five-movement orchestral work,
a Grande Symphonie entitled “Portrait Musical
de la Nature”, whose movement designations
are even closer to those of the “Pastorale”.
And other concrete models can be found in
Beethoven’s time as well (like Georg Joseph
Vogler, Leopold Mozart or the Mozart student
Franz Jacob Freystädtler). With a person like
Beethoven, of whom it is known that he not
only read every available score, but carefully
studied and excerpted many of these, one can
assume that he knew many of these works.
But Beethoven never simply followed
prevailing fashions, but changed them so radically
that they changed music history forever.
In one of his sketch-books he writes, “Every
painting, as soon as it has been taken too far in
instrumental music, loses.” Beethoven’s love of
nature is not only sufficiently well known, it
is a fundamental attitude that suffused his life
and mentality, over and above the expression
of his immediate well-being. We know something
about what Beethoven read, and in addition
to his constant examination of Homer
or Goethe, we know for example which passages
he underlined in one edition of the work
Views on the Work of God in the World of Nature
and Providence on All Days of the Year, edited
by Evangelical minister Christoph Christian
Sturm. In an essay, Rüdiger Heinze notes parallels
with Immanuel Kant’s Universal Natural
History, a work that Beethoven expressly mentions
in a notebook he kept on conversations.
“The moral law in us and the starry
heavens above us” – this quote can be used
in many contexts in regard to Beethoven’s
thought and works. For the “Pastorale”, we
must understand it as an overriding theme –
over and above all titles and subtitles. If one
says that of Beethoven’s symphonic works,
the “Eroica” is the first that is clearly oriented
towards the Finale, this must also be true for
the “Pastorale” – not only formally and thematically,
but particularly in regard to content.
The hymn of praise by the shepherds
in the 5th movement “Thanks to the divine
being” is perhaps Beethoven’s most discussed
expression for the consciousness of inner
moral responsibility under the “starry heavens”,
which he then expresses in song in his
last symphonic work with Schiller’s words:
“Brothers! Above the starry canopy a loving father
must dwell. …Seek him above the starry
canopy! He must dwell above the stars.”
This is in fact no longer more “sensation
than painting”, but much more a philosophy
of life expressed in music. In his analysis,
Peter Hauschild (Edition Peters) uses the
sketches to show that the opening of the
5th movement – a shepherds’ theme – is the
motivic nucleus for the entire “Pastorale”. We
already find this theme in the first motive
of the 1st movement as well as – in different
forms – at the beginning of each other movement
(concerning the 5th movement, this
“introduction” is the chorale at the close of
the 4th movement). In music history before
Beethoven, the key of F major repeatedly
stood for depictions of nature. At first glance,
the 1st movement of the “Pastorale” with its
tempo marking Allegro ma non troppo
(Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in
the country), just like its sister, the 5th Symphony,
has no slow introduction, as do, for
example, the 4th or 7th Symphonies. But one
parallel to the 5th is entirely apparent: that the
retarding element at the beginning is limited
to a fermata. In the 5th Symphony, the listener
is immediately confronted by the theme,
the energy of whose last note is simply increased
by the fermata. In the 6 th, however,
the theme enters almost like a commonplace
phrase, which takes pause at the end, held up
by the fermata.
Only in the next measures does it become
clear that we – just as in the 5th Symphony –
are already in the middle of thematic events.
Beethoven first used this type of abbreviation
in the “Eroica”. There, however, he presented
us with the result of the entire work right at
the beginning, i.e. with the two harsh E-flat
Major chords, after which the rest of the symphony
shows us how this result came to be.
In the 5th and 6th Symphonies, on the other
hand, the thematic material forms the immediate
starting point for what follows. Overall,
the formal parallels between the 5th and 6 th
symphonies are much closer than we might
assume, based on their different characters.
In only four measures, Beethoven presents
us with the essential thematic material of the
“Pastorale”, then meditating on it in the following
508 measures. But he does this in a skillful
development within the sonata form and with
a unique web of major-key relationships that
is exceptional even in his own oeuvre.
In the 2nd movement, Andante molto
moto (Scene at the Brook), Beethoven comes
closest to a depiction of nature, e.g. in his representation
of water at the beginning of the
movement, or with the birdcalls at the end.
Beethoven wrote the names of the three birdcalls
into the score himself: nightingale, quail
and cuckoo. Formally, the 2nd movement is
also a sonata form that also integrates variations
(similar to the 5 th, where the movement
is laid out as a theme and variations with
sonata form shimmering underneath). The
birdcalls then form part of a fixed cadenza in
the movement’s coda. Just as in the 1st movement,
it is nearly impossible to completely
detail the complexity of the movement’s
structure and its finely chiseled details. The
result, however, is a continuation of the basic
mood of the 1st movement, both through the
key relationships (e.g. the 2nd movement is
in B-flat Major, just as is the beginning of the
development of the 1st movement) as well as
the treatment of the basic material.
Beethoven entitled the 3rd movement
(Allegro) Happy gathering of country folk. It
is simultaneously the first part of the ending
triptych, as it and the following two movements
follow upon one another without
pause. This movement is in the classical structure
of a dance movement, which can easily
lead us astray – Beethoven only entitles the 3rd
movements of his 2nd and 3rd symphonies as
“Scherzo”. But it is not in the least a minuet
as in the 1st Symphony, because we are now
confronted by – with no previous preparation
– the Beethoven of the “German Dances”. In
his analysis, Rudolf Bockhold convincingly
argues that the 3rd movement is actually the
symphony’s pivotal point, and would actually
form a logical Finale to the two previous
movements, if the power of the storm didn’t
lastingly annihilate the pleasure. He thus suggests
that the actual Finale is an “epilog”. In
the 3rd movement, Beethoven now adds trumpets
to the previous orchestration, and the reason
for this is not entirely harmless. Although
Beethoven’s humor does emerge in this movement
– country village music is characterized
by purposefully ‘false’ rhythmic entries – the
trumpet thwarts more than supports the lighthearted
fun, thus helping build up a premonition
of what is to come.
The 4th movement is an Allegro with
the subtitle Thunderstorm, Storm. With the
transition from the 3rd to the 4th movement,
we experience the interruption of the Happy
gathering of country folk, while towards the
end of the waning storm, there is room again
for general relief and thankfulness. With this
movement, Beethoven, far eclipses all previous
musical depictions of natural violence.
After addition of the trumpet in the previous
movement, tympani, trombone and piccolo
now have their say. Beethoven takes advantage
of the extreme ranges of the available instruments,
in addition to using the complete
dynamic range between pianissimo and fortissimo.
For the first time in this symphony,
we are confronted by a minor key – and with
the greatest possible vehemence. Beethoven’s
expression for threat (Egmont Overture,
Florestan Aria) is F Minor. The movement
builds menacingly from a pianissimo, intensifying
in waves in the first two-thirds to a
climax in measure 106. With the trombone
entrance here, the movement now gradually
calms, ending in a pianissimo.
The Finale, entitled Shepherds’ song;
cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm
is a moderate Allegretto in 6/8. At first, the
form seems to be a typical, clear Rondo
that matches the ‘calming’ character of the
movement. But Beethoven would not be
Beethoven if he didn’t include other formal
elements – here, sonata form as well as variation.
It must be remarked once again that
Beethoven’s formal and compositional treatment
goes far beyond any trite depiction of
nature. Rudolf Bockholdt showed that the
chorale-like final chords of the 4th movement
can be found at the beginning of the movement
in slightly different form, where they
serve as a symbol for thoughts on nature and
have been developed from the beginning motive.
In exactly the same way, the introductory
six-four chord has the closest possible
relationship to the beginning motive of the
work. The main theme of this movement develops
from this chord after several measures,
heard in the violin. Intensifying throughout
the entire movement, it represents a hymn of
praise to nature, creation and the creator.
In the work by Christoph Christian
Sturm cited above, Beethoven highlighted
the following words: “By all rights, one can call
nature a school for the heart, because it teaches
us in a highly rational manner the responsibilities
which we not only owe to God, but also to
ourselves and to our fellow man.” Following
this, one could even view the “Pastorale” less
as a musical depiction of nature than as a
resounding illustration of Beethoven’s principles
of life: “The moral law in us and the starry
heavens above us”.
Michael Lewin
Translation: Elizabeth Gahbler
The following works provided the essential foundation
for this essay: P. Gülke: Zur Neuausgabe
der Sinfonie Nr. 5 v. Beethoven, Leipzig 1978.
A. Sandberger: Zur Pastoralsymphonie in: Ausgewählte
Aufsätze, München 1923. H. Schenker:
Beethoven V. Symphonie in: Der Tonwille, Wien
1921. Peter Hauschild: Beethoven Sinfonie Nr. 6,
Leipzig 1985. Rudolf Bockholdt: Beethoven VI.
Symphonie F-Dur, München 1981. Martin Geck:
V. Symphonie in: Die 9 Symphonien Beethovens,
München 1994, Hg. v. R. Ulm. VI. Symphonie
in: Die 9 Symphonien Beethovens, München
1994, Hg. v. R. Ulm, as well as the revision by
Jonathan del Mar, 1998/99 Kassel.