Page 297 - Beethoven, Ludwig van. Simfonija v F-duru, opus 68: »ljubljanski prepis« - Symphony in F major, opus 68: ‘Ljubljana transcript’. Uredil/Edited by Jonatan Vinkler. Koper, Ljubljana: Akademija za glasbo Univerze v Ljubljani, Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Založba Univerze na Primorskem, 2019.
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In his sketches to the Pastoral Symphony, Beethoven wrote that die Erfahrung bewährt gefunden, daß man des Guten und mehr noch des 295
‘[the] hearers should be allowed to discover the situations’ (Man über- Starken leicht zu viel haben kann.)11
lässt es dem Zuhörer, die Situationen auszufinden) that his music depicts symphony no. 6 by beethoven, member of the philharmonic society in ljubljana
within, but was aware at the same time that, ‘all painting in instrumental In such an atmosphere, the symphony certainly could not provoke
music is lost if it is pushed too far’ (Jede Mahlerei, nachdem sie in der In- excessive enthusiasm.
strumentalmusik zu weit getrieben, verliert).10 Even when the purport of
the Sixth Symphony seems clearly recognisable, the composer is in some Because of its extra-musical clues, long after its first performance,
way communicating to the listener that it is only an appearance, behind the work stirred up the imagination, mainly that of supporters of the
which the true meaning is hiding. so-called programme music. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that
‘pastoral’ has been, from ancient times onward, an essential element in
Beethoven wrote the work from the summer of 1807 to the autumn art. In the Renaissance and Baroque era, it strongly influenced paint-
1808 in the countryside surroundings of Heiligenstadt and Baden near ing as well as literature and other humanist disciplines. In music, it was
Vienna. The symphony thus came into existence in highly turbulent first prevalent in the madrigal, German shepherd plays, masses, and Ital-
times, three years after the Habsburg capital bowed to the onset of Na- ian pastoral opera. However, it was also present in instrumental music,
poleon’s army. The hard blow struck Beethoven in 1802 by the advanc- most distinctively in the 18th century: from Vivaldi’s violin concertos in
ing loss of his hearing was growing increasingly obvious over the years, the collection The Contest between Harmony and Invention (Il cimen-
but partial deafness, along with some personal problems, often escalated to dell‘armonia e dell‘inventione), to Haydn’s oratorio The Seasons, and
into conflict with those close to him. Therefore, the composer’s increas- eventually the pastoral symphonies in Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s
ingly frequent retreats into nature and admiring its beauties, are likely to Christmas Oratorio.12 In a wider context, Beethoven’s Sixth is strongly
have contributed to his inspiration and preparation for the creative pro- anchored in the above-mentioned pastoral genre, idealising the imagi-
cess, and should come as no surprise. nary image of harmonic life with nature, wherein a fantasy of ideal in-
ter-human relations unravels.13 Moreover, the pastoral theme later also
The Pastoral Symphony was first performed under the composer’s inspired numerous symphonists, among them Alexander Konstanti-
lead in the famous public concert of 22 December 1808 at Theater an der novich Glazunov in Symphony no. 7 in F major and Ralph Vaughan Wil-
Wien. Over four hours of music were supplemented by Beethoven with liams in his Third symphony.
some piano improvisations. The composer Johann Friedrich Reichardt
later remembered the event: In Beethoven’s score, alongside the so-called characteristic elements
of ‘pastoral’ music, we find many hints of the world of pastoral. Among
‘There we continued, in the bitterest cold, too, from half past six most evident examples of these ‘depictions’ are onomatopoetic imi-
to half past ten, and experienced the truth that one can easily have too tations of the singing of nightingale (Nachtigal), quail (Wachtel), and
much of a good thing – and still more of a loud thing.’ (Da haben wir cuckoo (Kuckuck) in the second, and the imitation of a summer storm
denn auch in bitterster Kälte von halb sieben bis halb elf ausgehalten, und with thunder in the fourth movement of the symphony. Also contrib-
10 Thomas-San-Galli and Wolfgang Alexander, Ludwig van Beethoven (Berlin: 11 Peter Gülke, “…immer das Ganze vor Augen”: Studien zu Beethoven (Stutt-
Dearbooks, 2014), 250. gart, Weimar: Metzler, Bärenreiter, 2000), 139.
12 Wyn Jones, ‘The Pastoral Tradition,’ in David Wyn Jones, Beethoven: Pastoral
Symphony (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 14–6.
13 Barbo, Simfonija prve polovice 19. stoletja, 18.
‘[the] hearers should be allowed to discover the situations’ (Man über- Starken leicht zu viel haben kann.)11
lässt es dem Zuhörer, die Situationen auszufinden) that his music depicts symphony no. 6 by beethoven, member of the philharmonic society in ljubljana
within, but was aware at the same time that, ‘all painting in instrumental In such an atmosphere, the symphony certainly could not provoke
music is lost if it is pushed too far’ (Jede Mahlerei, nachdem sie in der In- excessive enthusiasm.
strumentalmusik zu weit getrieben, verliert).10 Even when the purport of
the Sixth Symphony seems clearly recognisable, the composer is in some Because of its extra-musical clues, long after its first performance,
way communicating to the listener that it is only an appearance, behind the work stirred up the imagination, mainly that of supporters of the
which the true meaning is hiding. so-called programme music. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that
‘pastoral’ has been, from ancient times onward, an essential element in
Beethoven wrote the work from the summer of 1807 to the autumn art. In the Renaissance and Baroque era, it strongly influenced paint-
1808 in the countryside surroundings of Heiligenstadt and Baden near ing as well as literature and other humanist disciplines. In music, it was
Vienna. The symphony thus came into existence in highly turbulent first prevalent in the madrigal, German shepherd plays, masses, and Ital-
times, three years after the Habsburg capital bowed to the onset of Na- ian pastoral opera. However, it was also present in instrumental music,
poleon’s army. The hard blow struck Beethoven in 1802 by the advanc- most distinctively in the 18th century: from Vivaldi’s violin concertos in
ing loss of his hearing was growing increasingly obvious over the years, the collection The Contest between Harmony and Invention (Il cimen-
but partial deafness, along with some personal problems, often escalated to dell‘armonia e dell‘inventione), to Haydn’s oratorio The Seasons, and
into conflict with those close to him. Therefore, the composer’s increas- eventually the pastoral symphonies in Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s
ingly frequent retreats into nature and admiring its beauties, are likely to Christmas Oratorio.12 In a wider context, Beethoven’s Sixth is strongly
have contributed to his inspiration and preparation for the creative pro- anchored in the above-mentioned pastoral genre, idealising the imagi-
cess, and should come as no surprise. nary image of harmonic life with nature, wherein a fantasy of ideal in-
ter-human relations unravels.13 Moreover, the pastoral theme later also
The Pastoral Symphony was first performed under the composer’s inspired numerous symphonists, among them Alexander Konstanti-
lead in the famous public concert of 22 December 1808 at Theater an der novich Glazunov in Symphony no. 7 in F major and Ralph Vaughan Wil-
Wien. Over four hours of music were supplemented by Beethoven with liams in his Third symphony.
some piano improvisations. The composer Johann Friedrich Reichardt
later remembered the event: In Beethoven’s score, alongside the so-called characteristic elements
of ‘pastoral’ music, we find many hints of the world of pastoral. Among
‘There we continued, in the bitterest cold, too, from half past six most evident examples of these ‘depictions’ are onomatopoetic imi-
to half past ten, and experienced the truth that one can easily have too tations of the singing of nightingale (Nachtigal), quail (Wachtel), and
much of a good thing – and still more of a loud thing.’ (Da haben wir cuckoo (Kuckuck) in the second, and the imitation of a summer storm
denn auch in bitterster Kälte von halb sieben bis halb elf ausgehalten, und with thunder in the fourth movement of the symphony. Also contrib-
10 Thomas-San-Galli and Wolfgang Alexander, Ludwig van Beethoven (Berlin: 11 Peter Gülke, “…immer das Ganze vor Augen”: Studien zu Beethoven (Stutt-
Dearbooks, 2014), 250. gart, Weimar: Metzler, Bärenreiter, 2000), 139.
12 Wyn Jones, ‘The Pastoral Tradition,’ in David Wyn Jones, Beethoven: Pastoral
Symphony (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 14–6.
13 Barbo, Simfonija prve polovice 19. stoletja, 18.
