Beethoven- Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 36 Part I
Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony in D Major is his response to the realization that he was slowly losing his hearing. In an unsent letter dubbed the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” Beethoven complains, “Oh how can I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more perfect in me than in others.” He wrote the 2nd to cure his melancholy, and the brightness and light humor is evident throughout the entire work.
Dedicated to his longtime friend and patron Prince Lichnowsky, the premier of the 2nd Symphony took place on April 5, 1803 in Vienna. The 2nd was composed at the very end of Beethoven’s classical period, and even calling the symphony “classical” must be taken with some grain of salt. A resemblance to classical-era form can be found, but is almost always taken to extremes.
- Adagio- Allegro con brio
- Larghetto
- Scherzo
- Allegro molto
I. Adagio- Allegro con brio
The movement begins with two orchestral coup d’archets, one short and one long (“ta-da”). This figure will return throughout the piece. A pastoral wind passage answers the coup d’archet, but is then interrupted by another. The pastoral mood returns, slowly rising with sustained lines in the winds. A series of minor coup d’archets (from here on out abbreviated with “CDC”) at around 2:04 is the climax of the introduction and is followed by a slow melody in the low strings with staccato notes in the violins, who switch roles in the second rendition. After 4 loud CDCs, a rapidly descending violin line brings us to theme one (3:02).
Theme one is simply a 3 pitch motive of one long note followed by four short notes that outlines the D Major triad in duple meter. The low strings play the theme accompanied by violin decoration. It is interrupted by a transition passage (3:21) during which the “ta-da” CDCs are played in the violins and echoed by the orchestra. This is followed by a series of fast lines in the strings that rapidly descend and ascend. This transition brings us to theme two (3:57), a cheerful, almost victory-like march with the winds playing the melody over gently beating strings. The winds are answered by the rest of the orchestra almost rudely before repeating, this time with lightly trilling strings (like a military band’s fife?). The second repetition of theme two is followed by loud theme one motives (one long, four short) in the strings and more CDCs (4:32). The low strings then ascend with one long/four short figures before the strings play the theme one motive again followed by a descending orchestra line, beginning the cadence. A series of accented CDCs off the main beat and a descending string line return us to the beginning of theme one (Note: Sonata Allegro form usually is structured as the following: introduction, exposition, cadence, exposition, cadence, development, recapitulation, coda. It is handy to know these terms, and for more information please see the Wikipedia article on Sonata Allegro form.)
[Since the exposition is repeated, I'll skip to the development. Note that the times I record will reflect the 2:30 or so that it takes to repeat the exposition.]
The development begins at 7:59 with a theme one motive in the low strings, which soon turns into a conversation between the lower and upper strings. The high strings then begin a dramatic series of descending lines echoed by the low strings, all based on the theme one motive. At 8:27 the winds and strings start to repeat the theme one motive over a very imposing, descending base line. The high strings join with a shimmering tremolo and theme one motives in the winds, and after a loud, slightly disorienting passage of theme one motives being played all over the orchestra the music quiets. Theme two briefly returns in the major key at 9:01, but is transformed back to minor in the flutes while the winds and violins crescendo. The development of theme two now starts with the strings adding a note to the basic, rising motive of theme two which makes it suspiciously close to the CDC “ta-da.” At 9:36 the “ta-da” returns, alternating in the low and high strings. A brief cadence brings us to the recapitulation of theme one.
Theme one is recapped (9:50) but shortened. The same rapidly descending and ascending string lines follow before theme two is restated (10:31). The cadence material for the recapitulation begins at 11:28 and consists of theme one motives in the strings answered by descending figures in the orchestra. The syncopated rhythms from the cadence of the exposition return before winds descend into the coda (12:04). Theme one motives are answered with loud orchestra notes, which are in turn followed by (12:27) a series of sustained trills and notes from the orchestra over a bass line that rises chromatically. The conclusion of this passage brings back the home key and soon signals the end of the movement with theme one motives in orchestral unison and a series of final CDCs.
Note: the climax of the introduction (2:04) is nearly identical to the theme one of the first movement in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
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