Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, op. 67 (1804 - 1808)
1. Allegro con brio
2. Andante con moto
3. Allegro
4. Allegro
Written in 1804-1808, this Symphony is one of the most famous and popular, as well as the most frequently performed works of symphonic music. First performed at 1808 in Vienna, the Symphony soon gained a reputation as an outstanding work. This was the time of the highest flourishing of the composer's talent. One after another, the most famous works appear, often imbued with energy, heroic struggle: the Kreutzer Sonata, "Aurora" and "Appassionata", the Opera "Fidelio", the Overture "Coriolanus", etc. The composer has come to terms with an incurable illness. At the age of 31, he wrote to a friend the proud words that became his motto: "I want to grab fate by the throat. She won't be able to break me completely. Oh, how wonderful it is to live a thousand lives!»
The fifth Symphony is dedicated to famous patrons-Prince F. I. Lobkovits and count A. K. Razumovsky, the Russian Ambassador in Vienna, and was first performed in the author's concert, the so-called "Academy", at the Vienna theater on December 22, 1808, along with the Pastoral. The Symphony, and especially its beginning motif (also known as the "motif of fate", "theme of fate"), became so widely known that their elements permeated many works, from classical to popular, in movies, television, and so on. It has become one of the symbols of classical music.
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ("Pastoral", 1807-1808)
1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Andante motlo mosso
3. Allegro
4. Allegro
5. Allegretto
The sixth Symphony falls in the Central period of Beethoven's work. Completed at the same time as the Fifth in 1808, it differs sharply from it. Here Beethoven does not struggle with a hostile fate, but glorifies the great power of nature, the simple joys of life. The Symphony is also dedicated to Beethoven's patron, the Viennese patron Prince F. I. Lobkovits, and the Russian envoy to Vienna, count A. K. Razumovsky. "No man can love rural life as I do, for the oaks, trees, and rocky mountains respond to the thoughts and experiences of man," Beethoven said. The "pastoral" Symphony, which, according to the composer himself, depicts feelings born from contact with the natural world and rural life, became one of his most romantic compositions.
Conductor Alexander Sladkovsky