Romantic Era
Beethoven's Seventh Symphony happened to be the last work Leonard Bernstein ever conducted — at the Tanglewood Music Center in August of 1990. The music of Beethoven has always been an important part of the Leonard Bernstein legend; he recorded the "Eroica" as early as 1953 for Decca, as well as doing two complete cycles for Columbia and Deutsche Grammophon. The Seventh Symphony heard here with the New York Philharmonic is one of Bernstein's earlier recordings and it offers the young Bernstein conducting with youthful fervor and enthusiasm.
The Beethoven Seventh is known for its use of rhythmic devices and, of course, includes one of the most famous themes in classical music in the Allegretto. The work was premiered in Vienna on December 8, 1813 at a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau, with Beethoven himself conducting an orchestra that included an incredible roster of musicians (and composers) of the day, with Ludwig Spohr, Johann Hummel, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Antonio Salieri, Anton Romberg and the Italian double bass virtuoso, Domenico Dragonetti.
On this recording the Seventh is coupled with the First Symphony, recorded in 1964. In the work, Beethoven seems to be reveling in his mastery of the symphonic form, bequeathed to him by Haydn and to a lesser extent Mozart. The symphony is happy, joyous and rollicking. The second movement, Andante cantabile, is reminiscent of his teacher Haydn while Beethoven was already creating revolutionary effects with a Minuet movement that is really a full-blown Scherzo in disguise. The last movement, Finale, is imbued with the style...more details
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