I’ve always loved the Fourth. The contrast of the slow introduction with the main part of the first movement is a disconnect that only Beethoven could pull off. Next to that, I’m all about the Eighth for it’s joyful brevity.
You?
The 6th, Pastoral. My favorite of all ever since I first saw Fantasia.
7th. Always preferred it to the 5th, though not in the same league as the 9th (I don’t think any work of art is in the same league as Beethoven’s 9th).
2nd movement (allegretto) always gets me misty eyed.
Theoretically, the Ninth is awesome. The problem is that Beethoven forgot how high a soprano could really sing. I really wonder if he hadn’t been deaf, whether he would have lowered it to B!
Good point. But, I believe by that point in his career, Beethoven was creating above normal human limitations.
Symphony No. 3, the Eroica. Then, depending on my mood, No. 6 (Pastoral) and Nos. 7 and 8. I love the *allegretto *in No. 7 as well.
It’s funny, although I’m a weak atheist, I hold out some hope that some sort of rectifying afterlife exists in order to rightfully compensate people like Beethoven (and Mozart…and scores of others) who gave so much to mankind, yet received so little in return during their lives, for their genius, yet tortured labor.
By the time Beethoven composed his 9th symphony, I believe he had transcended humanity and was playing in the realm of the gods.
Too bad we never got to hear his [hypothetical] 10th. Maybe that’s our punishment.
7th
The 8th. It puts a smile on my face.
The 7th. But I would find it hard to live without the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th (and the others give pleasure, too).
The Seventh, especially of course the allegretto.
I never really appreciated the Fifth until I heard Robert Greenberg’s two lectures about it. I never realized how groundbreaking it was, in so many respects.
I also love the glorious opening of the Eighth.
And Schubert, who died so young, a relatively unknown pauper.
…and, Chopin didn’t exactly live a long, happy-go-lucky life. And, Liszt (one of my favorites) did live a long, productive life, but even he gave much more than he received.
The 7th
Sixth, all the way.
Thirding the sixth symphony. The whole thing is telling a story (about a trip to the country) and you can recognize the whole story throughout the piece.
Seventh. Third would be next.
Seventh, Third, Sixth, Fourth, Eighth, Second, First in that order, descending.
My favorite has changed several times over the years, but currently it’s the Second. He’s still (mostly) in classical-period mode in that one, but is pushing really hard at the boundaries.
Musicologist Barry Cooper did a pretty decent reconstruction of the first movement. There are a couple of recordings available; you can listen to it on Spotify or YouTube.
Agreed.
(Do you know the theory that the scene by the brook is an assignation? The way the music builds is supposed to mimic an act of love. The theory even suggests that it’s an illicit affair, because of the cuckoos, signifying cuckoldry. I think this idea is far-fetched and unlikely to be true, but I know people who strongly believe it.)
Seventh. The original (Carl Sagan) Cosmos series used much of it to wonderful effect. This is how a deaf genius communicates with the rest of us.
Then the third. In general the odd numbered symphonies inspire me much more than the even numbered.