Symphonie Nr. 2 D-Dur op. 36 - 6. Teil

Many observers have commented on the contrast between Beethoven’s cheerful Second Symphony and the despair occasioned by his increasing deafness, as manifested in the “Heiligenstadt Testament.” The widespread belief that they were completed around the same time made the contrast seem even more remarkable. However, recent studies have demonstrated that work on the symphony was actually finished as early as April 1802, well before Beethoven’s stay in Heiligenstadt that summer.

The Second Symphony marked the first time Beethoven replaced the conventional minuet in the third movement with a scherzo featuring distinctive, boisterous contrasts in dynamics and instrumentation, as you can hear in this excerpt from a recording by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Clemens Krauss (1893–1954). The Vienna-born conductor achieved international success and served as the Vienna Philharmonic’s last permanent subscription conductor between 1930 and 1933. He went on to work with the orchestra again from 1943 onwards. It was Krauss who established the orchestra’s special affinity with the works of the Strauss dynasty, as well as the institution of the New Year’s Concert at the Musikverein. After 1945, the occupation authorities ruled he had befitted from the Nazi regime. This ruling prevented Krauss from gaining another permanent position after the war, although he continued to enjoy success as a guest conductor.
(Constanze Köhn)