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This was certainly not the first time that nature found its way into concert music. Baroque composers were fond of hunting scenes and bird calls. Leopold Mozart produced a bit of fluff called A Musical Sleighride, complete with barking dogs, and Haydn's The Seasons, which dates from 1801, is filled with scenes from country life. Although these examples are familiar, one probable influence on Beethoven is often overlooked. In 1784, the publisher Bossler issued a set of piano trios by Beethoven. He advertised the works in the newspaper, and, on the same page, listed another composition, also published by Bossler, a five-movement symphony by the now-forgotten Justin Heinrich Knecht, a work entitled A Musical Portrait of Nature. Each movement of that symphony carried a descriptive title, remarkably similar to those used a dozen years later by Beethoven, who also made the same unusual choice of five movements. Beethoven almost certainly knew of this precedent for his own symphony and for his titles, but, since the secret to successful plagiarism is to be better known than your source, Beethoven was never questioned. Still, regardless of the shady origin of the titles, the music itself is all Beethoven.
Although early sketches for this symphony date from 1802, its actual composition waited until the summers of 1807 and 1808. Beethoven spent these months in the town of Heiligenstadt. Today, Heiligenstadt is just another suburb of Vienna, but, back then, it was a rural retreat, a green escape from the heat of the city, and a perfect place for the reclusive Beethoven. In Heiligenstadt, his mind was at rest, and he was able to compose not only this symphony, but also the Symphony no. 5, the A-major Cello Sonata, and the two op. 70 Piano Trios. Beethoven produced so much music during this period that he was uncertain which symphony was finished first. He initially cataloged the Pastoral Symphony as number five and the c-minor Symphony as number six. The error was only corrected at publication.
On returning to Vienna in the fall of 1808, Beethoven organized a gala concert to premiere the two symphonies, together with other new works. The concert took place at the Theater an der Wien on December 22nd. Here's the program: first, the Symphony no. 6, followed, in order, by the concert aria, "Ah, perfido", two movements from the Mass in C major, the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Symphony no. 5, and, last but not least, the Choral Fantasy. It was four hours of music, new music to their ears. The theater was unheated, the orchestra was under-rehearsed, and the soprano soloist had a bad case of stage-fright. The whole experience led one listener to comment later that "one can have too much of a good thing --- and still more of a loud".
The titles of each of the Pastoral Symphony's five movements give a clear picture of what the composer had in mind. The first, "Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country," sets the idyllic mood which continues throughout the piece. A sort of skipping rhythm is heard throughout this movement, as if the composer were imagining village children at play. The second movement is "Scene by the Brook," in this case, a brook frequented by quails, cuckoos, and nightingales, whose voices are evoked by the woodwinds. In the third movement, Beethoven turns to human inspiration, for "Merry Gathering of the Country Folk," a portrayal of a village dance. Years later, a friend of the composer's claimed that it was meant to depict a village band, valiantly playing through a haze of alcohol. Like all merry-making, this party too comes to an end, in this case, with a change in the weather, as the fourth movement, "Thunderstorm," arrives. The storm rages away throughout the orchestra, then gradually subsides with the beginning of the fifth movement, "Shepherd's Song --- Happy, Thankful Feelings after the Storm." The last three movements are played without pause, and the entire symphony ends on a tranquil note. Perhaps it's dusk in Heiligenstadt, and Beethoven, enjoying a rare bit of peace of mind, is resting from his labors.