Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony premiered alongside Wellington’s Victory at a benefit concert in support of the Austrian soldiers who fought Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops at the Battle of Hanau. In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, three of the four movements have an exuberant character. Paradoxically, it is the mournful measures of the slow movement that are today the most well-known.
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Premiered in 1813, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is a work full of energy, alternating between the most recognizable types of popular dances and clear military archetypes. However, there is a moment of great contrast: notably the expressive affectation of the second movement, the most famous slow movement among all the composer’s symphonies. It repeatedly emphasizes a rhythmic cell over which very persuasive melodic ideas float, creating a mysterious atmosphere that is at times idyllic and at others evocative of a redemptive experience.
In the other movements, the rhythmic component predominates, often dispensing with melody and insistently repeating the same note. The symphony opens with a grand introduction, in the manner of a posthumous celebration. In the third movement, the rhythms of a ternary dance dominate, in a worldly and even playful mood; a true Scherzo. Within this movement are two trios, the slower sections typical of ternary dances. Finally, the symphony culminates in a blaze of inventiveness, thrilling from the first to the last minute.
Rui Campos Leitão