Beethoven's Symphonies

 Beethoven’ s symphonies cannot be analyzed without taking into account the whole creation of the great composer and of his predecessors.

If Haydn's or Mozart's music, and especially their symphonies, were composed to be more entertaining than profound, Beethoven gets us involved through everything he expresses, compelling us to take a stand. As proof of this fact we have the immense interest he still stirs, over 200 years after composing his first symphony and the numerous representations and concerts, but mostly we have the studies and works dedicated to the Beethoven Symphony, which were throughout time more than often controversial, at the same time offering unique aesthetic interpretations.

The Nine Symphonies

There are nine Beethoven symphonies, each of them being a masterpiece in itself, all different from each other, but at the same time, each one of them representing a certain stage in the evolution of the musical symphonic language of Beethoven.

To read more about each symphony click on the links bellow

1.Symphony No. 1, in C major, op. 21 (1799-1800)

2.Symphony No. 2, in D major, op.36 (1802)

3.Symphony No. 3, in E flat major, op.55, also known as «Eroica», (1804)

4.Symphony No. 4, in B flat major, op. 60, (1806)

5.Symphony No. 5, in C minor, op. 67 (1807)

6.Symphony No. 6, in F major, op. 68, also known as «Pastoral» (1808)

7.Symphony No. 7, in La major, op. 92, also known as «The Apotheosis of Dance», (1812)

8.Symphony No. 8, in F major, op.93 also known as «The Little Symphony» (1812)

9.Symphony No. 9, with a choir and soloists, in D minor, op.125 (1817-1825)

If we try to understand his early symphonies we must do that by first studying Haydn’s and Mozart’s works as Beethoven’s first and second symphonies are the continuation of the Viennese symphony tradition, - mostly represented by Haydn’s and Mozart’s compositions - characterized by maximum rigor in creating themes, choosing means of expression and most of all in establishing musical architecture.

His third symphony, the «Eroica» marks a new period in Beethoven’s musical creation. This work, with its strong programmatic background, prefigures the apparition of the romantic symphony. The march, as a musical genre, is introduced for the first time ever in a symphony, in the second part. The classical symphony begins to fade away.

The next symphonies build on his previous work innovating and surprising at the same time. His fifth symphony is unique through its sonata like form of the first part. His sixth, «The Pastoral» can be considered a series of symphonic poems connected by related melodic motifs.

In his seventh and eighth symphonies, Beethoven brings new elements in the aesthetic expression of musical content while his ninth and final work represents the apogee of the Beethoven symphony. The «Choral», as it is known, represents the synthesis of all the musical means of expression utilized by Beethoven until that point, and builds even further by introducing the choir in the fourth part.
Source All About Beethoven 

 The complete symphonies

Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 2 in D major (Op. 36), Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55), also known as the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), Wiener Philharmonicer,  conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 4 in B Flat Major (Op. 60), Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, Wiener Philharmonicer,  conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony (German Pastoral-Sinfonie), Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93, Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, Wiener Philharmonicer, conductor is Leonard Bernstein.

There is also a  10th

Ludwig van Beethoven's unfinished symphony no.10 in E flat major. This first movement was arranged by Bradley Cooper from over fifty fragmentary sketches for a tenth symphony by Beethoven.