Utah Symphony

By Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – By the time Beethoven began to establish himself in Vienna, he found the city hungry for a new musical ambassador. It was the 1790s. Mozart was dead and Haydn was moving toward compositional retirement. Beethoven had the good manners to leave the 18th century to those two lions by waiting until 1800 to premiere his 1st Symphony. The next century, and the symphony genre itself, would soon be his.    

THE MUSIC – It is interesting that Beethoven would wait so long to write symphonies and string quartets. He was 30 years old when he completed his first symphony and just two years younger when he wrote his first quartet. Both genres were the territory of his sometime teacher Haydn so Beethoven might have been hesitant about entering those arenas while the older master was still productive. The interesting part of this is that Beethoven’s music would later have the same effect on Johannes Brahms. It would seem that future legends, especially the world-striding sort, tend to be respectful of their predecessors’ turf. Beethoven’s first foray into the symphony form, a form he would eventually change so much it would seem as if he invented it from whole cloth, was extremely well-received at its premiere. The music has a Classical veneer but also hints of revolutions to come in the shifting harmonic sands of the introduction that sound perfectly reasonable to our modern ears but must have been startling at the turn of the 19th century. These few bars alone represented a distinct departure from the final symphonies of Mozart and Haydn. Other advancements included an increased reliance on wind instruments and an infusion of a scherzo-like energy into the traditional minuet movement but these observations are simple details when compared to the impact of the whole, which signaled to the world the start of something truly new.     

THE WORLD – Washington, D.C. became the capital of the United States in 1800. Also that year, infrared rays were discovered by British astronomer William Herschel and Italian physicist Alessandro Volta invented the world’s first electric battery.

THE CONNECTION – The most recent Utah Symphony Masterworks performance of Beethoven’s 1st Symphony occurred in September of 2001. Keith Lockhart conducted.

By Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – Beethoven spent the summer months of 1802 in the village of Heiligenstadt. The hope was that an extended break from the bustle of Vienna might improve his health in general and his hearing in particular. As we now know, his deafness would not be curable by any amount of rest. We also know that two very different utterances date from the following October – a new symphony and a desperate testament.  

THE MUSIC – The famous Heiligenstadt Testament was not discovered until after Beethoven’s death. It speaks of “blighted hope” and “courage disappeared” and is a tragically poignant description of his depression. Especially heartbreaking is his recounting of a moment when “someone heard the shepherd singing and again I heard nothing.” How then do we reconcile the light-hearted, often humorous 2nd Symphony that was completed in tandem with such a testament? It could be that Beethoven did most of the finish work on the piece while he was still optimistic about the healing effects of the countryside. It could also be that his visit to “rock-bottom” uncovered a hidden well of fortitude and that the reason Beethoven hid his testament from view was because it had awakened a burning desire to fulfill his destiny regardless of his limits. Whatever the case may be, the 2nd Symphony marked the beginning of a paradoxically productive period for Beethoven, a man who often fell to inactivity when fate betrayed him. The music is playful, witty and energetic. It lacks the stormy, furrowed-brow qualities of the 3rd and 5th symphonies but has plenty of its own ingenuity to offer. Beethoven replaced the traditional minuet movement with a scherzo and crafted a finale so quirky it elicited one of greatest reviewer comments in music history, referring to a “wounded dragon that refuses to die and, though bleeding in the finale, furiously thrashes about with its stiffened tail.” Hilarious…and wrong.                               

THE WORLD – The United States Military Academy at West Point was founded in 1802, as was the French Legion of Honor. Also that year, Vietnam’s the last ruling family, the Nyugen dynasty, began its 143 year rule.  

THE CONNECTION – It has been a while since the Utah Symphony performed Beethoven 2 on a Masterworks concert. The year was 1996 and Joseph Silverstein was on the podium.

By Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – Beethoven was little more than a year removed from his great literary cry of despair, the Heiligenstadt Testament, when he finished his world-changing 3rd Symphony. Such a work seems at odds with the agony he professed but Beethoven was a man capable of the firmest resolve when necessary. He clearly did not intend to let his deafness limit his professional achievement. In fact, a “new path” needed finding.

THE MUSIC – The 3rd Symphony was blessed from the start with a legendary dedication story, a story so essential it has become impervious to scrutiny. We know without doubt that Beethoven originally entitled the symphony “Bonaparte” after Napoleon, who was then merely the impressive First Consul of France. When Napoleon declared himself Emperor in 1804, Beethoven apparently flew into a rage at the impertinence of such a tyrannical act and un-dedicated his new symphony by ripping the score’s title sheet in half and tossing it down in disgust. Another version of the tale only has him scratching out Napoleon’s name with a knife. This latter option at least is borne out by some physical proof but the page-tearing scenario persists thanks to certain trusted biographies. The one sure truth is that, by the time of its publication in 1806, the symphony once called “Napoleon” became known as “Eroica” and was dedicated to Beethoven’s patron Prince Lobkowitz. Symphony No. 3 represented a shocking upheaval in the world of music. It was longer, more forcefully complex and less emotionally comfortable than anything the 1805 Vienna audience (or any audience anywhere for that matter) would have heard before. Harsh complaints and upturned noses were plenty, but the air of artistic uprising must have been intoxicating for even the most traditional listeners. Beethoven found his “new path” in “Eroica” and he was never again simply a composer. From then on, he was a creator of monuments.                       

THE WORLD – Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. In the United States, Lewis and Clark began their expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase. And in Europe, Spain declared war on England (again).  

THE CONNECTION – “Eroica” is performed quite often by the Utah Symphony on the Masterworks Series. The most recent concerts occurred in 2009 under the direction of Larry Rachleff.

Instrumentation: flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings

Duration: 34 minutes in four movements.

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – The latter half of 1806 was productive for Beethoven, a composer for whom the fits of quantity in his professional life were perpetually tethered to the regular variations of quality in his personal life. After a bit of a creative lull, due in large part to the all-consuming work of FIDEIO and the ultimately unsuccessful relationship with his beloved Josephine, Beethoven was overdue for a burst of activity.    

THE MUSIC – In a manner not uncommon over the next two years, Beethoven bundled the premiere of the 4th Symphony with other first performances. A private concert was given in March of 1807 at the Vienna palace of Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz and included not only the new symphony but also the 4th Piano Concerto and the Coriolon Overture. Little was written about the initial reception of the premieres but later commentary indicates that the symphony made a favorable impression on Viennese reviewers, who found it charming if anachronistic by the standards set forth in “Eroica.” The dedicatee of the piece might well provide insight into that frequently voiced opinion. Beethoven completed the piece in late 1806 while in Silesia. He spent some time at the home of Count Franz von Oppersdorff, a man greatly enamored of the composer’s 2nd Symphony. The Count was anxious to commission a new symphony and Beethoven agreeably obliged him with the 4th. Scholars, on purely artistic grounds, posit connections between the 4th Symphony and the earlier, equally “Classical” 2nd (as opposed to the 3rd and 5th) but the fact that this analysis matches so neatly with Count Oppersdorff’s original motivation for the commission cannot be a coincidence. The academic grouping of Beethoven’s symphonic catalogue into odd and even subsets is a well-documented exercise but, in this specific case, it seems reasonable to imagine that the composer had his patron’s ear in mind while he worked.            

THE WORLD – The British Parliament voted to ban the trade of slaves (if not slavery itself) in 1807. Napoleon routed the Russians that June, forcing Alexander to make peace with France. In America, Aaron Burr was acquitted of the charge of Treason.  

THE CONNECTION – Beethoven’s 4th Symphony is typically among the least frequently programmed parts of the cycle. Utah Symphony last performed it in 2009 under the direction of Thomas Wilkins.

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings

Duration: 31 minutes in four movements.

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – In 1807 Beethoven made a proposal to the Imperial Theatre Directors of Vienna for a yearly opera commission and a separate benefit concert also to be held annually in one of the performance halls. This request, if granted, would have provided him with some much needed stability and would have provided posterity with the boon of a full operatic catalogue from the great master.

THE MUSIC – Sadly, it wasn't meant to be and the single 1808 concert offered by the Directors was to be the sole fruit of Beethoven's ambitious suggestion. The unfulfilling circumstances of the event in general and the premiere of the 5th Symphony specifically are now legendary. The concert was notable not only for its prodigious length (four hours!) and poor preparation (only one rehearsal!) but also its rather uncomfortable hospitality (the hall was unheated on that bitterly cold December night!). History however makes its own magic with the ingredients provided by fate and that night, though unsuccessful, is revered today for good reason. The 5th Symphony owes its fame to the four notes that mark the opening of the first movement but its importance is grounded in the paradigm-shifting effect of the entire work. Compositional innovations abound in the score and brass players the world over laud the piece for making the first purely symphonic use of the trombone. The initial insistent motif of the symphony has been referred to as "Fate knocking at the door" and even if we are no longer certain that Beethoven himself used that phrase it is aptly put. The stark energy of that simple idea contains a microcosmic completeness that informs all four movements and serves as the first fearless steps on the journey from darkness to light, a frequent emotional ideal in Beethoven's music but one employed here more perfectly than ever before.

THE WORLD – 1808 also marked the publication of Scottish poet Walter Scott's Marmion, which included the memorable line "Oh, what a tangled web we weave/ When first we practice to deceive." That year also saw the end of Thomas Jefferson's Presidency.

THE CONNECTION – Utah Symphony, like all professional orchestras, programs Beethoven 5 frequently. The most recent performance was in 2009 under the direction of Matthias Bamert.

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, strings

Duration: 39 minutes in five movements.

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – The period from 1803-1808 was marked by furious compositional activity for Beethoven but he still found it difficult to establish any financial security in Vienna. He did enjoy a few generous supporters and could sell pieces to publishers, but he had no steady employment and had trouble setting up a concert from which he could collect the sales. In 1808, finally, he found both.

THE MUSIC – The "Pastoral" Symphony by Beethoven has been forever linked to his 5th Symphony thanks to the circumstances of their dual premiere. It would be unheard of today to program both of these full-length symphonies on a single concert but that is exactly what happened back on December 22, 1808 at the Theatre an der Wein. This historic performance included not only the 5th and 6th Symphonies but also the 4th Piano Concerto, a concert aria, excerpts from the Mass in C and the “Choral Fantasy.” It was an under-rehearsed marathon of over four hours that had very mixed results for Beethoven. Regardless of the evening’s effectiveness, the juxtaposition of the two symphonies is fascinating to consider. Though created simultaneously, they could not be more different. The “Pastorale” is as gentle and subtle as the 5th is forceful and iconic. If the 5th opens with the sharpness of a blade, the 6th whispers itself into life before the listener is even aware. The five movements of the 6th Symphony have titles that evoke specific scenes from “country life” and while much of the music seems quite descriptive, the composer cautioned that “It is rather an expression of feeling than a pictorial representation.” The disclaimer is unnecessary and, in some instances, possibly even inaccurate. The storm sequence in particular is as literal as a film score and has not been improved upon by another composer’s “weather music” in the two centuries since.       

THE WORLD – As of January 1, 1808 it was officially illegal to import slaves into the United States. 1808 also saw the “Rum Rebellion” in Australia, the publication of Goethe’s Faust (Part I) and Napoleon’s appointment of his brother Joseph as King of Spain.

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, op. 73 ("Emperor")

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings,

Duration: 38 minutes in three movements.

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – Vienna was under French bombardment and eventual occupation during the spring and summer of 1809, the year in which Beethoven completed the bulk of the 5th Piano Concerto. It was a decidedly unhappy time for the composer, with the city emptied of friends and benefactors and with contact to the rest of Europe nonexistent. The work was not premiered until November of 1811, not surprisingly in Leipzig rather than Vienna.

THE MUSIC – Beethoven never performed the 5th Piano Concerto himself. Given the fact that the first four were essentially written for his own concert use, this seems a clear indication that his deafness had progressed to a point that made public solo appearances impossible. Instead, Friedrich Schneider handled Leipzig concert while Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny played the Vienna premiere later in 1812. Like so many of the nicknamed pieces throughout music history, the moniker of "Emperor" was not applied by Beethoven. One wonders if he would have tolerated it given the damage Vienna suffered at the hands of the current self-proclaimed "Emperor" Napoleon but nevertheless, the heroic appellation is quite apt today. The 5th Concerto, incidentally Beethoven's final foray into the genre, is impressively regal in scale and impact. Gone forever is the idea of the concerto as a virtuosic display work, with a pre-ordained formal structure and an orchestra tasked solely with the passive accompaniment of the soloist. Plenty of dazzling virtuosity is on display here but the "Emperor" Concerto, like the 4th Concerto before it, is essentially a three-movement symphony with solo piano. Beethoven eschews many of the accepted conventions in the 5th Concerto (placing cadenzas at the beginning of the first movement rather than the end, for example) and the sum of his innovations kicked down the door of Classical era tradition, clearing a path for the even more grandly proportioned works of Brahms and Rachmaninoff.

THE WORLD – Elsewhere in 1811, Paraguay and Venezuela declared their independence from Spain, the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought in America, and England's Mad King George III was deemed too insane to rule and was effectively replaced by the Prince of Wales.

THE CONNECTION – The "Emperor" Concerto is programmed often by the Utah Symphony, most recently in 2007 with Keith Lockhart conducting and Andre Watts as soloist.

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, op. 93

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings,

Duration: 26 minutes in four movements.

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – Beethoven completed most of the work on the 8th Symphony in the Bohemian spa city of Teplitz which during some very uncertain times in Europe was a neutral site and frequent haunt of diplomats, royalty and other people of note. It was there that a long-awaited meeting between Beethoven and Goethe happened at last. Sources say the two giants found each other quite interesting but perhaps "a bit much" upon further reflection.

THE MUSIC – Progress on the relatively diminutive 8th Symphony began almost immediately upon completion of the mighty 7th. In fact, the 7th and the 9th tower on either side of this "little symphony in F" in a manner commonly remarked upon for each of Beethoven's even-numbered symphonies. It has long been rich fodder for musical opinion, this idea that the odd-numbered symphonies all look innovatively forward while the evens look nostalgically back. True or not, the 8th (like the 4th and 6th) often gets lost in the shadows cast by its much more popular neighbors. The 1814 premiere was in Vienna on a concert with the 7th Symphony and another crowd favorite, Wellington's Victory. The programming choice baffled critics (one spoke of Beethoven's "faulty judgment" in allowing the new piece to follow the 7th) and did the 8th Symphony no favors with the audience, who applauded appreciatively if not enthusiastically. The above critic also made the observation that the more brief and good humored 8th would fare much better in time, especially if performed alone, free of the comparisons to its longer and more insistent older sibling. Indeed, the piece now enjoys the equality it deserves in Beethoven's symphonic canon. Odd or even, the composer himself thought the 8th Symphony one of his best and according to legend he believed the initially bewildered response of the Viennese listeners, especially in light of their rabid fascination with the 7th, was because the 8th "is so much better."

THE WORLD – 1814 saw Napoleon's abdication and short-lived exile to Elba, the Treaty of Ghent, the publication of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and the penning of "The Star Spangled Banner" by poet Francis Scott Key.

THE CONNECTION – Symphony No. 8 has been performed several times over the last decade but only once on the Masterworks series, back in 2002 with Keith Lockhart.

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125 ("Choral")

Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, strings, chorus.

Duration: 65 minutes in four movements.

THE COMPOSER – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) – After the completion of his final symphony, Beethoven actually considered a premiere location outside of Vienna. At the time, Beethoven harbored significant displeasure with the Austrian capital's lack of support for serious music. When he made contact with promoters in Berlin regarding the 9th, word soon spread in Vienna and his admirers there presented him with letter of support that included a successful plea on behalf of the city and its audiences.

THE MUSIC – The 9th Symphony is difficult to define adequately, so massive was its scope and so indelible its historical importance. The work stood guard over the entirety of the 19th century, inspiring nearly every future composer to seek previously unknowable possibilities in the genre of the symphony. Beethoven ignored the limits of rhythm, harmony, structure and nearly every other Classical-era convention in this piece and the famous fourth movement defies even contemporary attempts at classification. That such disparate elements – from the Turkish March to the "Ode to Joy" to the fragmentary glimpses of the prior movements – could be so richly interwoven over its 24 minutes serves as final confirmation of Beethoven's topmost place among the gods of our musical pantheon. The May 7, 1824 premiere at Vienna's Karntnertortheatre surely ranks among the greatest public triumphs of his life. On the concert with the "Choral" Symphony were the Consecration of the House Overture and three sections of the Missa Solemnis. The sold-out house was incredibly enthusiastic and their ovation at the close of the symphony created one of the most poignant moments of the composer's career. Beethoven, then fully deaf, continued to leaf through his score until one of the soloists got his attention and pointed to the cheering Viennese audience, to whom he politely bowed. It feels tragic now to recall the repeat performance which occurred a little over two weeks later – a poorly attended, financially disastrous affair that would be Beethoven's last concert.

THE WORLD – 1824 saw the creation of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the installation of Simon Bolivar as dictator of Peru, the official naming of New Holland as Australia, the birth of Stonewall Jackson and the death of Lord Byron.

THE CONNECTION – The frequently programmed "Choral" Symphony was last performed by the Utah Symphony in 2008 with Keith Lockhart.