Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
Premiere: Vienna, April 2, 1800
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings
***
Adagio molto - Allegro con brio
Andante cantabile con moto
Menuetto: Allego molto e vivace
Finale: Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
Beethoven's first two symphonies inhabit the world Haydn and Mozart. Admittedly, they push the boundaries, but it is not until his third symphony, the Eroica, that he bursts into a new world of his own. However, this is in hindsight. For those who first heard these symphonies -- and for us, if we can put aside comparisons with his later works and think of his predecessors -- they were brilliant, passionate and surprising symphonies by a young genius. The First Symphony, influenced as it was by Mozart and Haydn, was in a familiar musical language, so that Beethoven's idiosyncracies and surprises were highlighted all the more. This is felt right from the famous opening chords, which, rather than establishing the key of the piece as one would expect, leave it momentarily ambiguous.
The First Symphony received its premiere on April 2, 1800 at the Burgtheater in Vienna in a concert which Beethoven put on for his own benefit. The program also included works by Haydn and Mozart. Beethoven appears to have worked on ideas for this symphony for several years, but the main task of composing it took place during the six months before the premiere. The dedication is to the Baron van Swieten, the patron and connoisseur who had helped introduce Beethoven to Vienna society and the man who had introduced Haydn and Mozart to the music of Bach and Handel. The premiere was a great success with both public and critics and considerably boosted Beethoven's reputation. In Leipzig, the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung wrote, ". . . this was truly the most interesting concert we have heard for a long time. . . [The symphony] contained much art, many new things and a wealth of ideas."
The autograph of the First Symphony is lost, as are preparatory sketches that Beethoven may have written. We must rely therefore on the earliest printed edition, which, though published during the composer's lifetime, was most likely prepared without his involvement or guidance. Since that early edition has been the basis of a long performing tradition, it is interesting to see recent efforts to go back and take a fresh, critical look at that first edition, at the apparent errors in it, and at the publisher's corrections.
Boston Baroque Performances
Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
February 27 & March 1, 2003
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor