The Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 is a symphony in four movements composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1812. Beethoven fondly referred to it as "my little Symphony in F", distinguishing it from his Sixth Symphony, a longer work also in F.
The Eighth Symphony is generally light-hearted, though not lightweight, and in many places loud, with many accented notes. Various passages in the symphony are heard by some listeners to be musical jokes. As with various other Beethoven works such as the Opus 27 piano sonatas and the later Ninth Symphony, the symphony deviates from Classical tradition in making the last movement the weightiest of the four.
Composition, premiere and reception
The work was begun in the summer of 1812, immediately after the completion of the Seventh Symphony. At the time Beethoven was 41 years old. According to Antony Hopkins, the mood of the work betrays nothing of the events that were taking place in Beethoven's life at the time, which involved his interference in his brother Johann's romantic relationships. The work took Beethoven only four months to complete, and is, unlike many of his works, without dedication.
The premiere took place on 27 February 1814, at a concert in the Redoutensaal, Vienna, at which the Seventh Symphony (which had been premiered two months earlier) was also played. Beethoven was growing increasingly deaf at the time, but nevertheless insisted on leading the premiere. Reportedly, "the orchestra largely ignored his ungainly gestures and followed the principal violinist instead."
When asked by his pupil Carl Czerny why the Eighth was less popular than the Seventh, Beethoven is said to have replied, "because the Eighth is so much better." A critic wrote that "the applause it received was not accompanied by that enthusiasm which distinguishes a work which gives universal delight; in short—as the Italians say—it did not create a furor." According to Czerny, Beethoven was angered by this reception. George Bernard Shaw, in his capacity as a music critic, agreed with Beethoven's assessment of the work, writing that "In all subtler respects the Eighth is better [than the Seventh]." More recently, Jan Swafford has described the Eighth as "a beautiful, brief, ironic look backward to Haydn and Mozart." Martin Geck has commented on the authenticity of the Eighth, noting that it contains "all the relevant hallmarks, including motivic and thematic writing notable for its advanced planning, defiant counterpoint, furious cross-rhythms, sudden shifts from piano to forte, and idyllic and even hymnlike episodes."
Form
Allegro vivace e con brio (F major) Allegretto scherzando (B major) Tempo di menuetto (F major) Allegro vivace (F major)
The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F (in B basso for the second movement), 2 trumpets in F, timpani, and strings.
It is approximately 26 minutes in duration.
First movement
This movement is in the home key of F major and is in fast time. As with most of Beethoven's first movements of this period, it is written in sonata form, including a fairly substantial coda. Hopkins observed that the movement is slightly unusual among Beethoven's works in that it reaches its dramatic climax not during the development section, but at the onset of the recapitulation. The concluding bars of the development form a huge crescendo and the return of the opening bars is marked (fortississimo, i.e. extremely loud), which rarely appears in Beethoven's works, but has precedents in the Sixth and Seventh symphonies. This is balanced by the quiet closing measures of the movement.
The opening theme is in three sections of four bars each, with the pattern forte–piano–forte. At the onset of the recapitulation, the theme is made more emphatic by omitting the middle four bars.
Second movement
There is a widespread belief that this movement is an affectionate parody of the metronome, which had only recently been invented (or more accurately, merely improved) by Beethoven's friend, Johann Maelzel. Specifically the belief was that the movement was based on a canon called "Ta ta ta... Lieber Maelzel," WoO 162, said to have been improvised at a dinner party in Maelzel's honor in 1812. However, there is no evidence corroborating this story and it is likely that WoO 162 was not written by Beethoven but was constructed after-the-fact by Anton Schindler. A more likely inspiration was the similar rhythmic parody of Joseph Haydn's "Clock" Symphony.