Symphony No.4 in B flat major, Op.60

Beethoven wrote his Fourth Symphony in 1806, three years after he had so unmistakably and uncompromisingly established his identity in the Eroica. He had been working since then on what we now know as the Fifth Symphony in C minor but, for reasons unknown to his biographers, he temporarily abandoned that work in favour of the present symphony in B flat major.

Whatever the reason, the change of plans gave the composer the opportunity to explore the unconventional possibilities of all-through thematic unity, such as he had in mind for this Symphony in C minor, in a more subtle way and in a brighter atmosphere. It might have been an unconscious process but it is significant that what emerges from the Adagio introduction and remains prominent throughout the work is the dynamic upbeat. By far the most important part of the first subject of the Allegro vivace is not the descending theme itself but the muscular flourish up to it. Although the woodwind melodies of the second subject are conspicuously downbeat ideas, the flourish dominates the development, elaborately clears the way for the recapitulation, and crowns the coda.

      During the Adagio the upbeat influence is rarely extended to the melodic line. It is for the most part restricted to the dotted rhythms of the accompaniment, where it is not only persistent but, considering the fragile beauty of the melodic material, surprisingly indiscreet. The whole rhythmic and melodic character of the Menuetto and trio, on the other hand, depends on phrases which begin on the upbeat. In the finale, moreover, the first theme begins with what amounts to seven bars of upbeat in its prolonged semiquaver run-in. When, after the woodwind’s introduction of the downbeat second-subject material, the first violins loudly echo the muscular flourish from the first movement the unity of the symphony is sealed.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Symphony No.4 in B flat major, Op.60

Adagio - allegro vivace
Adagio
Menuetto: allegro vivace
Allegro ma non troppo

Beethoven wrote his Fourth Symphony in 1806, three years after he had so unmistakably and uncompromisingly established his identity in the Eroica.. He had been working since then on what we now know as the Fifth Symphony in C minor but, for reasons unknown to his biographers, he temporarily abandoned that work in favour of the present symphony in B flat major.

Whatever the reason, the change of plans gave the composer the opportunity to explore the unconventional possibilities of all-through thematic unity, such as he had in mind for this Symphony in C minor, in a more subtle way and in a brighter atmosphere. It might have been an unconscious process but it is significant that what emerges from the Adagio introduction and remains prominent throughout the work is the dynamic upbeat. By far the most important part of the first subject of the Allegro vivace is not the descending theme itself but the muscular flourish up to it. Although the woodwind melodies of the second subject are conspicuously downbeat ideas, the flourish dominates the development, elaborately clears the way for the recapitulation, and crowns the coda.

During the Adagio the upbeat influence is rarely extended to the melodic line. It is for the most part restricted to the dotted rhythms of the accompaniment, where it is not only persistent but, considering the fragile beauty of the melodic material, surprisingly indiscreet. The whole rhythmic and melodic character of the Menuetto and trio, on the other hand, depends on phrases which begin on the upbeat. In the finale, moreover, the first theme begins with what amounts to seven bars of upbeat in its prolonged semiquaver run-in. When, after the woodwind’s introduction of the downbeat second-subject material, the first violins loudly echo the muscular flourish from the first movement the unity of the symphony is sealed.

Gerald Larner