David Hurwitz - Beethovens Orchestral Music

Unlocking the Masters Series, No. 33

Series Editor: Robert Levine

Unlocking the Masters

The highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series brings readers into the world of the greatest composers and their music. All books come with audio tracks taken from the worlds foremost libraries of recorded classics, bringing the music to life.

With infectious enthusiasm and keen insight, the Unlocking the Masters series succeeds in opening our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to the greatest composersStrings

Series Editor: Robert Levine

Ravel: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2000

Richard Strauss: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2000

Verdi: The Operas and Choral Works, by Victor Lederer, 2000

The Mahler Symphonies: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2004

Decoding Wagner: An Invitation to His World of Music Drama, by Thomas May, 2004

Exploring Haydn: A Listeners Guide to Musics Boldest Innovator, by David Hurwitz, 2005

Dvorak: Romantic Musics Most Versatile Genius, by David Hurwitz, 2005

Getting the Most Out of Mozart: The Instrumental Works, by David Hurwitz, 2005

Getting the Most Out of Mozart: The Vocal Works, by David Hurwitz, 2005

The Great Instrumental Works, by M. Owen Lee, 2006

Operas First Master: The Musical Dramas of Claudio Monteverdi, by Mark Ringer, 2006

Shostakovich Symphonies and Concertos: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2006

Chopin: A Listeners Guide to the Master of the Piano, by Victor Lederer, 2006

Sibelius Orchestral Works: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2007

Beethovens Symphonies: A Guided Tour, by John Bell Young, 2008

Puccini: A Listeners Guide, by John Bell Young, 2009

Schuberts Theater of Song: A Listeners Guide, by Mark Ringer, 2009

Liszt: A Listeners Guide, by John Bell Young, 2009

Schubert: A Survey of His Symphonic, Piano and Chamber Music, by John Bell Young, 2009

Bachs Choral Music: A Listeners Guide, by Gordon Jones, 2009

Bachs Keyboard Music: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2010

Beethovens Piano Music: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2011

Bernsteins Orchestral Music: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2011

Beethovens Chamber Music: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2012

Richard Strauss: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2014

Verdi: The Operas and Choral Works, by Victor Lederer, 2014

Ravel: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2015

C.P.E.: A Listeners Guide to the Other Bach, by David Hurwitz, 2016

Schumann: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2017

Listening to Handel: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2019

Listening to Mendelssohn: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2020

Bachs Operas of the Soul: A Listeners Guide to the Sacred Cantatas, by Mark Ringer, 2021

Beethovens Orchestral Music: An Owners Manual, by David Hurwitz, 2021

Berlioz: A Listeners Guide, by Victor Lederer, 2021

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To Ali Javed, the wizard of automotive Bluetooth

I want to thank very sincerely some of the people who helped to bring this project to completion. First, my editor, Bob Levine, whose comments and advice are invaluable. Also, thank you to the folks at Amadeus Press who have made working on this series such a pleasure, and the many friends who spent so much time with me talking about and listening to Beethoven, including Sren, Christophe, Styra, Silvia, Barry, Victor, Kenny, and Shawnthank you, one and all!

T he following list contains all of Beethovens orchestral output worth mentioning. Missing are a few tiny interludes and such from the stage works that havent been listed separately; but aside from those, the most significant omission is the Rondo in B-flat Major, WoO 6, for piano and orchestra, which originally served as the finale to the Second Piano Concerto (really the first in order of composition). This was completed and published by Carl Czerny, so theres some question as to how much of it is pure Beethoven. If youre curious, you can find it pretty easily in tandem with recordings of the piano concertos. There are also numerous fragments, some completed by others, which we dont need to bother with. Otherwise everything else is here, listed chronologically. As is often the case in this period, opus numbers generally reflect dates of publication rather than composition, which explains the sometimes paradoxical order of the earliest pieces.

1790

Musik zu einem Ritterballett (Music for a Knights Ballet), WoO 1

1791

Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14

1795

Piano Concerto no. 1 in C Major, op. 15

Piano Concerto no. 2 in B-flat Major, op. 19

Twelve Minuets, WoO 7

Twelve German Dances, WoO 8

1798

Romance for Violin and Orchestra no. 2 in F Major, op. 50

1800

Septet in E-flat Major, op. 20

Symphony no. 1 in C Major, op. 21

Piano Concerto no. 3 in C Minor, op. 37

1801

The Creatures of Prometheus, overture and ballet music, op. 43

1802

Symphony no. 2 in D Major, op. 36

Romance for Violin and Orchestra no. 1 in G Major, op. 40

1804

Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and piano in C Major, op. 56

1805

Symphony no. 3 in E-flat Major (Eroica), op. 55

Leonore Overture no. 2, op. 72a

1806

Leonore Overture no. 3, op. 72b

Piano Concerto no. 4 in G Major, op. 58

Symphony no. 4 in B-flat Major, op. 60

Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 61

Piano Concerto in D Major, op. 61a

1807

Piano Concerto in D Major, op. 61a (arrangement of the violin concerto)

Coriolan Overture, op. 62

Leonore Overture no. 1, op. 138

1808

Symphony no. 5 in C Minor, op. 67

Symphony no. 6 in F Major (Pastoral), op. 68

Choral Fantasy, op. 80

1809

Piano Concerto no. 5 in E-flat Major (Emperor), op. 73

1810

Egmont, overture and incidental music, op. 84

String Quartet no. 11 in F Minor (Serioso), op. 95

1811