Beethoven spent the summer and fall of 1802 in the Heiligenstadt health resort at the recommendation of a hearing specialist, and it was here that the 31-year-old artist and composer had to accept the inevitability of his deafness. In the unsent letter known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven pours out his agony and despair, but ends with the determination to forge a new path with his music.
His Second Symphony was composed during that period, and is powerful, cheerful, and full of musical jokes. When it premiered in April 1803 one reviewer complained that it sounded “as if doves and crocodiles were locked up together”, while another described it as a “colossal work, of a depth, power, and artistic knowledge like very few.” This performance is conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler, who possessed a unique ability to comprehend the mind of the composer.
For more about Furtwängler: https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2015/eirv42n21-20150522/23-28_4221.pdf
Beethoven - Symphony No 2 - Furtwängler, VPO (1948)
Beethoven - Symphony No 2 - Furtwängler, VPO (1948)
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John Scialdone published this page in Daily Beethoven 2021-07-19 09:03:38 -0400