Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)

Symphony No. 6
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Part of a sketch by Beethoven for the symphony
Other name	Pastoral Symphony
Key	F major
Opus	68
Composed	1802 (1802)–1808
Dedication	Prince Lobkowitz Count Razumovsky
Duration	About 40 minutes
Movements	Five
Premiere
Date	22 December 1808
Location	Theater an der Wien, Vienna
Conductor	Ludwig van Beethoven

Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also called the Pastoral Symphony, is a symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven. The composer started the symphony in 1802 and finished the work in 1808 in the village of Heiligenstadt northwest of Vienna. It was first played in Vienna, Austria on 22 December 1808 in the Theater an der Wien with the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, the "Choral" Fantasy, "Ah! perfido!" (a concert aria composed in 1796), and parts of the Mass in C major of 1807.

The symphony is programmatic, which is not like most of Beethoven's other works.

Instrumentation

The symphony is written for:

Woodwinds

1 piccolo (fourth movement only)

2 flutes

2 oboes

2 clarinets in B♭

2 bassoons

Brass

2 horns in F and B♭

2 trumpets in C and E♭ (third, fourth, and fifth movements only)

2 trombones (alto and tenor, fourth and fifth movements only)

Percussion

Timpani in F and C (fourth movement only)

Strings

Violins I, II

Violas

Cellos

Double basses

Form

There are five parts, also called movements. This is not normal for symphonies in Beethoven's time, which often had four movements. The movements are:

No.	German name	English translation	Tempo marking	Duration	Key
I.	Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande	Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside	Allegro ma non troppo	7-13 minutes	F major
II.	Szene am Bach	Scene by the brook	Andante molto mosso	9-13 minutes	B♭ major
III.	Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute	Merry gathering of country folk	Allegro	2-6 minutes	F major
IV.	Gewitter, Sturm	Thunder, Storm	Allegro	2-3 minutes	F minor
V.	Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm	Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm	Allegretto	7-11 minutes	F major

The work takes about 35-46 minutes to play. This changes based on the tempo and whether the repeats in the 1st and 3rd movements are done.

Further reading

• Frogley, Alain (1995). "Beethoven's Struggle for Simplicity in the Sketches for the Third Movement of the Pastoral." Beethoven Forum, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 99–134.
• Gossett, Philip (Summer 1974). "Beethoven's Sixth Symphony: Sketches for the First Movement". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 27 (2): 248–284. doi:10.2307/830560. JSTOR 830560.
• Jander, Owen (Autumn 1993). "The Prophetic Conversation in Beethoven's 'Scene by the Brook'". The Musical Quarterly. 77 (3): 508–559. doi:10.1093/mq/77.3.508.
• Kirby, F. E. (October 1970). "Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony as a Sinfonia caracteristica". The Musical Quarterly. 56 (4): 605–623. doi:10.1093/mq/LVI.4.605.
• Knapp, Raymond (Summer 2000). "A Tale of Two Symphonies: Converging Narratives of Divine Reconciliation in Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 53 (2): 291–343. doi:10.2307/832010. JSTOR 832010.
• Lorenz, Christoph L. (1985). "Beethovens Skizzen zur 'Pastoralen.'" Die Musikforschung, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 95–108.
• Russell, Tilden (Spring 2003). "Unification in the Sixth Symphony: The Pastoral Mode." Beethoven Forum, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1–17.
• Will, Richard (Fall 2002). "The Nature of the Pastoral Symphony." Beethoven Forum, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 205–215.
• Will, Richard (July 1977). "Time, Morality, and Humanity in Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 50 (2–3): 271–329. doi:10.2307/831836. JSTOR 831836.

External links

• Symphony No. 6: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral") – A Beginners' Guide – Overview, analysis and the best recordings – The Classic Review
• Interview with Christoph Eschenbach