November | Notes from the Orchestra
Ludwig von Beethoven (1770–1827)
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
Beethoven’s career as a composer began in earnest after he moved from Bonn to Vienna in 1792. There he studied composition with Joseph Haydn from 1792 to 1794 and later with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger from 1794 to 1795 under whose tutelage taught Beethoven the intricacies of counterpoint. Counterpoint is the skill of combining two or more independent melodies, so they pleasantly integrate with one another and sound as one. Counterpoint became a defining theme in many of Beethoven’s later compositions.
Originally, Beethoven was expected to return to the service of Maximilian Franz, Elector of Cologne, whose court was based in Bonn, following his studies in Vienna. However, the French Revolutionary Wars disrupted those plans. In October 1794, French forces occupied Bonn and Cologne, forcing the Elector into exile and bringing an end to the court establishment that had supported Beethoven. Vienna thereafter became his permanent home; he never returned to Bonn. By 1795, both of his surviving younger brothers had followed him to Vienna. Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven (1774–1815) became involved in Ludwig’s business affairs, serving for several years as his secretary and manager, negotiating with music publishers and handling financial matters. His youngest brother, Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven (1776–1848), pursued a career in pharmacy, completing his professional qualifications at the University of Vienna in 1801.
During this time, Beethoven supported himself by teaching music and performing on the piano, which helped him build relationships with wealthy patrons in Vienna. As his reputation grew, he premiered and conducted his First Symphony in 1800.
In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger brother, Jerome Bonaparte, ironically and unexpectedly offered Beethoven an unsolicited court appointment to be the music director in the city of Kassel. By then, however, Beethoven had come to despise Napoleon and his rule for declaring himself Emperor. Beethoven instead used the offer to secure better terms from his local Vienna patrons.
In 1809, Beethoven secured a patronage agreement with three aristocrats: Archduke Rudolph of Austria, his piano and composition student; the Bohemian nobleman Prince Ferdinand Kinsky; and Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz. Together, they pledged 4,000 florins so he could remain an independent composer. Under this arrangement, Beethoven composed his Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Symphonies.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, is one of his most rhythmically exhilarating works. Composed in 1811–1812 and premiered in Vienna in 1813. Its defining feature is movement: persistent rhythms, sweeping crescendos, and an almost physical sense of momentum.
The four movements
Poco sostenuto – Vivace
A spacious, ceremonial introduction gives way to a buoyant main section. Listen for the recurring long-short-long rhythmic pattern that propels much of the music.
Allegretto
The best-known movement that is solemn, measured, and quietly compelling. A repeating rhythm begins in the lower strings, gathering layers of melody and orchestral color. This movement is probably one of the best examples of counterpoint in a composition. Listen how various melodies intertwine and harmonize with one another while the rhythm holds everything together. Brighter passages offer relief, but the underlying thread keeps returning.
Presto – Assai meno presto
A fleet, playful scherzo, full of sudden contrasts. Its broader contrasting section, known as the trio, returns twice, creating a contrast between breathless activity and spacious, stately music.
Allegro con brio
A headlong finale with pounding accents, swirling figures, and tremendous drive. The orchestra seems to push continually toward—and then beyond—its limits.
What makes it special?
The Seventh builds much of its drama through rhythm and repetition, rather than a stated story or program. Richard Wagner famously called the Seventh the “apotheosis of the dance”— even though it was not written for a ballet.
For this concert, follow the rhythmic pulse as it shapes the character of every movement. Notice how Beethoven keeps a pattern recognizable while changing the dynamics of melody, harmony, volume, and instruments around it. Pay attention to the emotional range you may feel from solemness to exuberance as you engage in this orchestral masterpiece.
Recommended Recording –
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7
Wiener Philharmoniker, Carlos Kleiber, recorded in the Musikverein in November 1975 and January 1976. Re-released by Deutche Grammaphone, 1995. A powerful and flawless performance. Available on streaming services.
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George Gerhswin (1898–1937)
An American in Paris
America was fortunate to have not one, but two extraordinarily gifted brothers in the Gershwin family. The sons of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Ira Gershwin became one of America’s great lyricists, writing the words to such enduring songs as I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You, Someone to Watch Over Me, Fascinating Rhythm, and They Can’t Take That Away from Me. His younger brother George Gershwin became a composer with an equally distinctive gift: bringing the sounds of American jazz, blues, Broadway, and popular song into the concert hall. Together, George and Ira became one of the most successful songwriting teams of the twentieth century, collaborating on scores for fifteen Broadway musicals, four films, and Porgy and Bess.
The family bought a piano for Ira, but it was George who took to the instrument in earnest, surprising everyone with his natural aptitude. George studied with pianist and composer Charles Hambitzer, who introduced him to the European classical tradition. He also studied composition with Rubin Goldmark, while at the same time absorbing the popular music of New York’s Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, ragtime, blues, and the emerging language of jazz.
Rather than choosing between these musical worlds, Gershwin combined them. Ambitious and eager to learn, he even sought out Maurice Ravel for composition lessons. Ravel declined, reportedly encouraging Gershwin to preserve the distinctive American voice he had already developed. One often repeated version of the exchange has Ravel telling him, in essence, “Why become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?”
By the time Rhapsody in Blue appeared in 1924, Gershwin had begun creating a concert style that sounded unmistakably American.
In An American in Paris, composed in 1928, Gershwin becomes a master storyteller without using a single word. He described the work as portraying the impressions of an American visitor wandering through Paris. We hear the traveler stepping into the excitement of the city—busy boulevards, passing traffic, bustling crowds, and the exhilaration of discovering. Gershwin had been fascinated by the sounds of Parisian taxi horns and even purchased automobile horns in Paris to bring home and incorporate into the score. The work premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, with Walter Damrosch conducting.
Gershwin effectively turns the symphony orchestra into an expanded American jazz band. Brass and percussion provide swagger and rhythmic energy; saxophones and woodwinds supply bright, sometimes cheeky colors; syncopated rhythms propel the traveler through the streets; and the famous taxi horns become part of the orchestral palette itself. Then the mood changes. A long, blues-based melody emerges, suggesting that our American traveler, for all the excitement surrounding him, has suddenly become homesick. The sounds of America intrude upon Paris—blues phrases, relaxed rhythms, and jazz harmonies recalling home. Gradually the melancholy passes, the lively Parisian music returns, and the traveler once again is thrown into the life of the city.
That storytelling is one of the great pleasures of An American in Paris. Gershwin does not ask the listener merely to admire orchestral technique; he lets us hear a place and experience a journey. Paris provides the setting, but the musical voice observing it remains thoroughly American.
George Gershwin died tragically of a malignant brain tumor in 1937 at only 38 years old. It is difficult not to wonder what music might have followed had he been given another thirty or forty years to compose. Fortunately, in his short life he left us Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Porgy and Bess, the Concerto in F, and an extraordinary collection of songs—works that have become quintessential sounds of the American experience.
With An American in Paris, Gershwin demonstrated that American music did not need to imitate the traditional European symphonic voice to belong in the concert hall. Jazz, blues, distinct rhythms, and the sounds of the modern city could provide their own vocabulary. The result is a symphonic work that, nearly a century later, still sounds exuberant, sophisticated, and unmistakably American.
A foot note: The famous 1951 MGM musical film An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, came much later and used Gershwin’s orchestral piece as part of the score. The movie was inspired by George’s title and music. MGM paid the Gershwin estate about $300,000 for the use of An American in Paris and other Gershwin songs, and paid Ira Gershwin an additional $50,000 for helping select unfished song scores with revised lyrics.
Recommended Recordings:
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic Columbia Symphony, 1958 performance, Masterworks Expanded Edition, remastered and released May 21, 2004. Best overall performance. Available on streaming services.
or
Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony, April 15, 2014
Remastered 2024, Sony Music. Superior Sound Engineering, excellent detail, polished and robust performance. Available on streaming services.
