What is the full name of Beethoven’s Second Symphony?
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. Beethoven later made a transcript of the symphony for piano trio under the same opus number.
When was the Second Symphony composed?
Beethoven composed his Second Symphony in the summer and fall of 1802, mostly in Heiligenstadt.
When and where was the premiere?
Beethoven himself conducted the first concert on April 5 1803, in Vienna.
What is the orchestration of the Second Symphony?
Flutes, oboes, clarinets in A, bassoons, horns in D, E and A, trumpets in D, timpani and strings.
What are the tempo markings of the movements?
- Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
- Larghetto
- Scherzo: Allegro
- Allegro molto
How long is the Second Symphony?
Beethoven’s Second Symphony, depending on the conductor, is around 35 minutes long.
To whom was the Second Symphony dedicated?
It was dedicated to his patron, Prince Lichnowsky.
What is the style of this symphony?
Around the time he composed the Second Symphony Beethoven began to realize his deafness has no cure. Despite this menace the Second Symphony is energetic, cheerful and full of musical jokes. Compared to the First Symphony a bolder and more mature composition.
What was the reception of the Second Symphony?
Beethoven’s Second Symphony had mixed reception. The most savage critiques complained about “barbaric chords”, music that sounded “if doves and crocodiles were locked up together” or compared the symphony to a “hideously wounded, writhing dragon that refuses to die”.
On a more positive side another review called it “a noteworthy, colossal work, of a depth, power, and artistic knowledge like very few…”.
