Symphony No. 6

At a glance

• What it isthe third movement of Symphony No. 6, a fast dance that runs without a break into the fourth movement, the storm.
• Who, when, whycompleted in 1808 and first performed in Vienna that December.
• What to listen forthe oboe tune that comes in off the beat, and the stamping dance that switches into two beats.

Listen for

• The party beginsthe strings start a light dance, and soon the whole orchestra answers loudly.
• The clumsy playerwhile the oboe sings its tune, the bassoon pops in a few low notes in odd places. It is often heard as an imitation of a village band's awkward playing.
• Stampingthe meter suddenly switches to two beats and people dance hard as if stamping on the floor. Then, like thunder in the distance, the mood shifts and the festival vanishes into the storm.

When it was written

In summer Beethoven often stayed in country villages near Vienna. The cheerful dance of this movement recalls the dances of rural Austria. Another feature of the symphony is that its movements run on without stopping: from the third movement to the last, the music flows like a single story.

The symphony was first performed on 22 December 1808, the same day as the Fifth. It is striking that two symphonies written at the same time wear such different faces, one with the tension of a struggle against fate, the other with the peace of the countryside.