Concert Band
2. Satz aus der Sinfonie Nr. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
Info
The premiere of the "First Symphony" (written 1799/1800) took place in Vienna on April 2, 1800, conducted by the composer himself. Despite the word is reminiscent in certain aspects to Haydn and Mozart, there clearly are very personal features by Beethoven. The second movement (original key F Major) is a chalm anchor between the quite feisty first movement and the Menuett, which is rather a Scherzo.
Formally, ANDANTE CANTABILE is a sonata movement, whose second (otherwise contrasting!) theme - at (1) - can probably be described as a modification of the first. Beethoven creates variety and tension within the character, which is actually song-like, through minor key parts and, above all, through the insistence on dotted rhythms. In the short development - after the double line - he quickly reaches a very distant key. The recapitulation - from (5) - differs from the exposition by the addition of a moving counter voice in semiquavers to the first theme, again an indication of the variational character that overlays the sonata form. In the coda - 10 bars after (9) - the main theme appears for the first time in the usual 8-bar form. Throughout the piece it was presented in a version compressed to 6 or 7 bars.