Ravinia 2026 Issue 1

heroic instrumentation. By contrast, the Sixth offers a lavish body of unrelated melodic ideas, a casual, at times static rhythmic pacing, and, with the obvious exception of the Tempest, Thunder- storm movement, a placid orchestral environ- ment. The patient listeners attending this joint premiere would have perceived these works dif- ferently. No. 5 represented a piece of absolute, or non-programmatic, music (the composer’s alleged remark about Fate knocking on the door came years later), while No. 6 was a “character- istic,” or genre, piece. In fact, Beethoven autho- rized a programmatic title for the Sixth: “Pasto- ral Symphony, or Recollections of Country Life.” The “pastoral” musical tradition dated back sev- eral centuries, at least to Renaissance vocal piec- es. Early examples of idyllic outdoor music ap- peared in French chansons and Italian and English madrigals, where singers described scenes filled with shepherds and nymphs and occasionally imitated the sounds of birds and insects. Baroque composers extended those ste- reotypes into another realm, creating a network of instrumental associations (string drones, shepherd flutes, and countless others). Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and the “Pastoral Symphony” from Handel’s Messiah epitomized this type of representational composition. Closer to Beetho- ven’s time were the two oratorios by Haydn, The Creation and The Seasons , each of which utilized instrumental resources to evoke natural phe- nomena, such as the sunrise. Nature unlocked Beethoven’s imagination and inspired his musical ideas. Almost every summer, he scheduled a retreat outside Vien- na—often in the villages of Heiligenstadt or Mödling—in order to roam aimlessly through the countryside. Anton Felix Schindler accom- panied the master on one walk and remembered his almost reverential communion with nature. “Beethoven would frequently pause and let his enraptured gaze wander over the spectacular scene before him.” The opening movement of the “Pastoral” Symphony, entitled Awakening Beethoven by the Brook in Neujahrsblatt der Allgemeinen musik-gesellschaft in Zürich (1834) of Happy Feelings on Arriving in the Country , captured this sense of wonder. The first sound heard—an open fifth—evokes a rustic drone instrument above which rises a joyous folk tune. Beethoven limited his chord selection to slow-moving major harmonies, adding to the serene impression. Another outdoor stroll inspired the Scene by the Brook . Two muted solo cellos begin their watery undulations while the first violins contribute short fragments—essentially ornamented de- scending seconds—that combine to form the main theme. Beethoven simulated three bird calls (identified in the score as nightingale, quail, and cuckoo) near the end, one of his few literal representations of nature. The remaining three movements are performed continuous. Joyous Gathering of Country Folk functions as the symphony’s scherzo. Schindler reported that the opening emulates authentic Austrian peasant dances. A humorous anecdote attributed to the composer partly explains the slightly off-kilter secondary theme. Beethoven heard folk musicians performing at The Three Ravens Inn in Mödling and asked Schindler if he had noticed “how village musicians would often fall asleep while playing, sometimes let the instrument sink and not play for a while, then wake up with a start, make a few hearty blasts or bowings at random, yet usually in the right key, and then go back to sleep again.” The clever composer, according to another source, also had in mind an incident in Heiligenstadt involving “a drunken bassoonist thrown out of the tavern, who then blows the bass notes.” More generic musical elements, particularly a drone, contrib- ute to the trio section of this movement. A terrifying storm interrupts the comical scene. The music builds mysteriously until, for the first time, a minor-key theme erupts. Beethoven intensified this instrumental drama by adding two trombones, timpani, and piccolo to the en- semble. After this frightening storm subsides, the clarinet introduces a broken-chord figure, which the horn repeats. The tranquil, almost religious Shepherd’s Song develops from these patterns. Beethoven evidently believed in the sanctity of nature. His personal library con- tained two volumes by Christoph Christian Sturm entitled Observations on the Works of God in the Realm of Nature and Providence . The com- poser underlined several passages, including: “One may truthfully call nature a school for the heart, for she teaches us in a very enlightened manner the obligations to God, to ourselves and to our fellow man that it is our duty to fulfill.” Although a secondary theme (possibly an actual Croatian folk tune) appears, variations of the shepherd’s thanksgiving hymn occupy most of the movement. Apparently moved by his own music, Beethoven wrote “Lord, we thank Thee” near the end of the manuscript. Violin Concerto in D major, op. 61 Scored for one flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings, and solo violin “Proceed along the path which you have hither- to trodden so splendidly and so gloriously. Na- ture and art vie in making you one of the great- est artists. Follow both, and you need not fear that you will fail to reach the great—the greatest goal on earth to which the artist can attain. Be happy, my dear young friend, and come back soon, so that I may hear again your delightful, splendid playing.” In 1794, Beethoven inscribed these words of encouragement and praise in the autograph book of 14-year-old violin wunder- kind Franz Clement (1780–1842). A child prodi- gy of Mozartian abilities, Clement made numer- ous tours throughout Europe, prodded along by his exploitative father. Beethoven crossed paths with Clement a dozen years later in Vienna, when the young violinist became leader of the orchestra at the Theater an der Wien. Anxious to reestablish professional ties with Clement, Beethoven hastily composed a concerto for the violinist’s already announced December concert date. (Sketches for the violin concerto exist side-by-side with music for the Symphony No. 5 and transcriptions of Handel’s Messiah .) According to legend, Beethoven fin- ished the score so close to the first performance that Clement played the solo part without previ- ous rehearsal. Although this report may seem a bit fanciful, it should not be dismissed lightly; Clement was known for his technical perfection and phenomenal aural memory, which allowed him to transcribe complete choral-orchestral works from memory (for example, Spohr’s The Last Judgment and Haydn’s The Creation ). Be- tween concerto movements, Clement allegedly played his own composition on the G-string, with the violin held upside-down! Perhaps apol- ogizing for his tardiness, the composer penned a witticism on his manuscript: “Concerto par Clemenza pour Clement” (“clemenza” means “clemency or mercy”). Beethoven conducted Franz Clement by Henri Hessell (1789) RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 85