Review Summary: Beethoven’s first is an enjoyable piece of high classical music, but it hardly lives up to the name of its composer.
By the time of the first symphony’s publication, Op. 21 in C Major, Vienna was already acquainted with the music of Herr Ludwig van Beethoven. The list of publications prior to the C Major symphony includes the spellbinding “Pathetique” piano sonata, the daring C minor piano trio, Op. 1 No. 2, of which Haydn reportedly told Beethoven that he would be “well advised not to publish”, two piano concertos, six string quartets, and three violin sonatas, all of exceptional, courageous, and original quality.
The C Major symphony, however, lacks the unique hallmarks and brilliance of the former works. The harshest critics of Beethoven’s first, such as French romantic composer Hector Berlioz, see the work as utterly devoid of any originality or poetic merit. Berlioz did not hold his tongue when he described Op. 21’s fourth movement as an “example of musical childishness.” Striking as it is to hear anyone, let alone someone as important to the history of music like Hector Berlioz, describe a Beethoven work in these terms, it is true that at worst the C Major symphony is undeniably weak, at best, aggressively status-quo.
None of this is to suggest that Beethoven’s first enjoyed such a pitiful reputation at all points across space and time. A contemporary reviewer in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeiturng highlighted its “considerable art, novelty and […] wealth of ideas.” One redeemable moment in the C Major is the introduction of the first movement. We begin “in media res” with an off-key “musical joke.” Sounded in the wrong key are loud dominant-tonic chord progressions that give the listener a sense that the piece had already begun, in effect, dramatizing the idea of opening a symphony with a short slow introduction. Once over, the exposition begins with a buoyant dotted rhythm melody in C major that has the potential for quintessential Beethoven dramatization. Unfortunately, Beethoven does very little with the theme. We have no grand cycle of harmonic modulation, no rhythm manipulation, and very little melodic transposition. Thus, each repetition of the potentially powerful theme, even in the development, feels more and more stale. Both theme two and movement two, an andante cantabile con moto in F major, suffer from the same ailment.
Movement III, however, stands out. There is much to laud: theme one, a rising G major diatonic staccato line already employs three accidentals, F#, G# and C#, theme two is blackbirded by flatted Ab, Bb, Eb, Db, and Gb notes, measures 21-25 feature quintessential Beethoven sforzandos, and measures 61-64 employ delicious syncopation of previously sounded motivic material. The composition of the movement also deserves recognition. The minuetto itself is strung together by the motivic material of theme one; rising lines, descending lines, and arpeggios all dance to the same dotted note-esque rhythm. Meanwhile, through the spacing of the instruments, especially the wind instruments, the character of the trio neatly balances out the minuetto with its levity.
The quality of the fourth movement, a rondo-sonata, is akin to those of the first two movements, rather than the third. Although its character is uplifting, it lacks all drama and any sign of Beethoven flair. Its motivic composition is superior to the first movement, but to again quote Berlioz, “In a word, Beethoven is not here.”
If we are to brush off the harsh criticisms of Berlioz and the like off, and take the opposite position that the C major is not all that good but not quite that bad, then a few leaps of faith need to be made. The most prominent explanation for the lack of quality in the C major is Beethoven’s desire to not to overwhelm the delicate ears of Vienna. The city, after all, had been home to the master of delicacy himself, Herr Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Yet, Beethoven, even going back to his teenage years in Bonn, never seemed to care about the reception of his music. The aforementioned list of nonconformist pieces speaks to this personality trait. In fact, Beethoven often held the aristocracy in contempt; responding to a fan’s letter in 1812 he wrote, “I should probably prefer to visit you and your family than to visit many rich people who betray themselves with the poverty of their inner selves.”
The other explanation for the failure of the C major regards Beethoven’s level of self-confidence. It is possible that at this stage of his life and/or career, the intensely private Beethoven did not yet feel comfortable revealing himself to Vienna in the same way he did through the petite piano trio, the solo piano sonata, or the string quartet. Nevertheless, we cannot know the reason for the failures of Beethoven’s first; there is nothing in his letters, correspondences, or tagebuch responses that indicate a satisfactory explanation.
Ultimately, one’s experience of the C major symphony will correspond with one’s preference for 18th century music in general. Beethoven’s first is, in fact, an enjoyable piece of high classical music, but it hardly lives up to the name of its composer.
