
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Symphony for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B flat, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F and B flat (bass), 2 trumpets in F, timpani and strings in F major Op. 93 No. 8 1. Allegro vivace e con brio Performed by Tafelmusik Directed by Bruno Weil *Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 is a symphony in four movements composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1812. Beethoven fondly referred to it as "my little Symphony in F", distinguishing it from his Sixth Symphony, a longer work also in F. The Eighth Symphony is generally light-hearted, though not lightweight, and in many places is cheerfully loud, with many accented notes. Various passages in the symphony are heard by some listeners to be musical jokes. As with various other Beethoven works such as the Opus 27 piano sonatas, the symphony deviates from Classical tradition in making the last movement the weightiest of the four. The work was begun in the summer of 1812, immediately after the completion of the Seventh Symphony. At the time Beethoven was 41 years old. As Antony Hopkins has noted, the cheerful mood of the work betrays nothing of the grossly unpleasant events that were taking place in Beethoven's life at the time, which involved his interference in his brother Johann's love life. The work took Beethoven only four months to complete. Unusually, he attached no dedication to the completed work. The premiere took place on February 27, 1814, at a concert at which the mighty Seventh Symphony (which <b>...</b>
classical
concerto
piano
moonlight
hammerklavier
sonata
spring
8th
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ode
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pastorale
HARMONICO
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