Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
Premiere: Vienna, February 27, 1814
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings
***
Allegro vivace e con brio
Allegretto scherzando
Tempo di Menuetto
Allegro vivace
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
When Beethoven's Eighth Symphony was first performed on February 27, 1814, it had the misfortune to be on the same program as the composer's own Seventh Symphony and his patriotic pot-boiler, Wellington's Victory. Both these works had received their triumphant premieres only a few months earlier and had become associated in the public mind with the allied victory over Napoleon. The audience no doubt expected another work in the same vein, but the new Symphony No. 8 proved to be gentler and more conservative. According to one critic of the time, "the applause which it received was not accompanied by that enthusiasm which distinguishes a work that gives universal delight; in short -- as the Italians say -- it did not create a furore." The same critic added that the new symphony would be assured of success, once it was played by itself and not heard immediately after the Seventh.
Beethoven himself was angry about the polite reception for his new symphony and, according to his student Czerny, claimed that the Eighth was "much better" than the Seventh. To this day, the Eighth Symphony has been somewhat overshadowed by its predecessor for the very reason that it is more conservative, even though it too has joyous character. Nonetheless, it holds a place of esteem and affection for audiences, along with the rest Beethoven's symphonies. By contrast, Wellington's Victory, a noisy piece with far less substance, faded from the standard repertoire once the political passions of the times subsided.
Beethoven began sketching his Eighth Symphony in April of 1812, immediately after completing the Seventh. The new symphony was finished in October of that same year and, with this beautiful but relatively conservative work, Beethoven's symphony writing came temporarily to an end. His production of new works declined considerably for a few years as a late style began to evolve. This work represents the end of an enormously productive dozen years, in which, among other masterworks, he wrote all of his symphonies but one. It would be a decade before he returned to the form to compose his ninth and final symphony, an expansive late work which is, in a sense, unique among his symphonies.
The sizes of the orchestras that performed Beethoven's music during his lifetime varied enormously. Perhaps because of limited finances, the orchestra which played the premiere of the Seventh Symphony was barely sufficient for such a piece, with only four violins in each section. A few months later, the same symphony, as well as the Eighth, took place in a very large hall with an enormous orchestra filled out by both professionals and amateurs. On that occasion, there were 18 violins in each section, but that too was evidently not ideal: Beethoven complained that he had never written "noise-music" for such a large orchestra and that it was too big to realize the sudden twists and turns of character in his music. Clearly, it is risky to assume that premiere performances represent a composer's true intentions (as many composers today can attest!). More often, we discover a range of what is "acceptable" for a piece and adapt it to the circumstances of a particular performance, including, among other things, the size of the hall.
Boston Baroque Performances
Symphony No. 8 in F, op. 93
May 4 & 5, 2007
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor