Program Notes | Discover Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony

Ludwig van Beethoven
Born: December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany
Died: March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria
Composed: 1808
World Premiere: December 22, 1808 in Vienna
Duration: 39 minutes
Instrumentation: woodwinds, horns and trumpets in pairs, and strings; piccolo and trombones are added for the "Storm" movement only

Beethoven’s nine symphonies had enormous impact on the development of orchestral literature in the 19th century. Each one represented some aspect of experimentation and break with tradition. Beethoven's exploratory gestures were sometimes less adventuresome in the early works, but not always: the Second Symphony, for example, introduced for the first time the concept of a scherzo in lieu of a minuet. Similarly, the later symphonies tend to conform more with our perception of romantic rather than classic. Yet the Eighth, Beethoven's penultimate symphony, is in many ways his most conservative, and a conscious salute to 18th-century convention.

Signature Work for the Romantic Era
None of his symphonies captured the public imagination more than the "Pastoral" in Beethoven's day. In the decades that followed his death, when Beethoven worship took on near-reverential proportions throughout Europe, the "Pastoral" remained his most popular symphony. Because it has five movements and uniquely incorporates programmatic titles we know to be the composer's own, it appealed to the poetic 19th-century imagination, even spawning a sub-genre of romantic imagery depicting Beethoven composing by a brook. Yet it still retains strong bonds to the Viennese symphonic tradition of Mozart and Haydn. Like the Eighth Symphony, whose tonality of F-major the Sixth shares, it is in many ways a reflective rather than innovative work, with stronger roots in the eighteenth century than have been generally acknowledged. Nevertheless, the "Pastoral" has generally been regarded as the most romantic of Beethoven's orchestral works. It exerted considerable influence on the generation of composers immediately following Beethoven.

Fraternal twins
A major factor in understanding the "Pastoral" Symphony is acquaintance with its companion piece, the Fifth. Beethoven labored on both symphonies in 1807 and 1808. They were premiered on the same concert in December 1808, published together as Opp. 67 and 68 in 1809, and share the same joint dedicatees: Prince Lobkowitz and Count Rasumovsky. Yet two pieces further apart in spirit are difficult to imagine. The Sixth Symphony is almost devoid of the intense drama and battling with Fate that so dominate the Fifth. With the exception of the famous thunderstorm (the fourth movement), the "Pastoral" belies the strife-ridden Beethoven with which we are more familiar. Even a high-strung, emotionally charged personality such as his required its balancing moments, it appears.

Nature Lover and exercise fanatic
Beethoven was a great nature lover. In his day, the outskirts of Vienna were indeed pastoral. His contemporaries, among them his amanuensis Anton Schindler, reported that he delighted in long walks, even during the occasional inevitable thunderstorm that struck during the summer months. He would return from such an excursion invigorated, oblivious to the temporary discomfort and inconvenience of being thoroughly drenched. The mental image of Beethoven thus soaked is a far cry from the scenario that Walt Disney painted for us in Fantasia (1940) during the thrilling fourth movement.

Musicians’ Corner
The otherwise limpid and unruffled music of the "Pastoral" conforms to normal symphonic structure with the exception that we do not experience the degree of contrast between first and second themes. Schindler confirmed that Beethoven considered F major the only possibly key for such a topic as a "nature" symphony. F major was the traditional key for pastoral subjects. Beethoven's themes in both outer movements are uncharacteristically melodic, showing a more Schubertian side of his personality. Thus, in "Awakening of serene impressions on arriving in the country" we are left to placid contemplation of nature's unruffled beauty, without the tension customarily present in Beethoven's developments.

"Scene by the brookside" succeeds in extending the tranquil atmosphere by means of the undulating triplets in the accompaniment, persuasively suggesting the gentle burbling of Beethoven's brook. The bird calls that precede the final three measures have generated much controversy over the years, but are best heard in their own naïve simplicity, as Beethoven undoubtedly intended them: flute as nightingale, oboe repeating the quail's plaintive cry, and clarinet tooting the unmistakable falling third of the cuckoo.

The most original formal innovation in the symphony is the linking of the final three segments without pause. The connecting thunderstorm provides natural cataclysm, musical drama, and a logical transition to the shepherd's song of thanks with which the symphony closes. Beethoven's orchestration includes some felicitous touches that are subtly rendered by omission rather than commission through much of the symphony. For example, he does not use trumpet until the scherzo ("Jolly gathering of country folk"), doubtless because its brassy edge would compromise the uniform serenity of the opening two movements. His introduction of full brass is all the more effective when they burst forth in the fury of the thunderstorm. Punctuation by piccolo at the high end and trombones at the low end lends a cosmic splendor to nature's wrath. Timpani, too, are reserved for the fourth movement, their only appearance in this otherwise tranquil work, so free of Beethovenian drama.

A MARATHON CONCERT–PREMIERE OF BEETHOVEN’S “PASTORALE”
On the evening of December 22, 1808, Beethoven gave a much-anticipated benefit concert at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. The music-making lasted a staggering four hours and included choral and solo vocal music as well as orchestral compositions. Its first part opened with the premiere of Beethoven’s newest symphony, his sixth, in F major. We know it as the ‘Pastoral.’

Next on the program came an aria, ‘Ah perfido!’ (later published as Op. 65); the Gloria from Beethoven’s Mass in C major; and the Fourth Piano Concerto. Following an interval, the marathon music-making continued with the Fifth Symphony – also a première – the Sanctus from the C major Mass, and a Piano Fantasia with the composer improvising, probably using material that he subsequently incorporated into the ‘Choral Fantasia.’ It must have been a very long night, but what a benchmark night for great music!

The combination of secular and sacred vocal music with solo improvisation and orchestral pieces was not unusual in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. An evening of live music customarily included a wide variety of performing forces. This 1808 program has historical significance not only because of Beethoven’s titanic stature, but also because it included the premieres of two great symphonies.

2025–26 marks the GRAMMY® and Emmy Award-winning conductor Xian Zhang’s 10th season as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony, and her inaugural season as the Music Director of the Seattle Symphony with whom she has been a long-term collaborator since her debut in 2008. Zhang has also been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the NCPA Orchestra in Beijing, beginning this season. Following her tenure as Music Director of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano between 2009–16, she continues as their Conductor Emeritus.

With the New Jersey Symphony, Zhang has commissioned composers such as Wynton Marsalis, Jessie Montgomery, Qigang Chen, Chen Yi, Steven Mackey, Thomas Adès, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Christopher Rouse, Vivian Li, Gary Morgan, Christian McBride, Paquito D’Rivera, and Allison Loggins-Hull. She is also responsible for introducing their annual Lunar New Year celebration. Under her artistic leadership, the New Jersey Symphony won two awards at the mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards in 2022 for their concert films, including EMERGE which was conducted by Xian Zhang, directed by Yuri Alves and co-produced with DreamPlay Films.

As a guest conductor, Zhang appears regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Her Deutsche Grammophon recording with the latter (Letters for the Future with Time For Three, released 2022) won GRAMMY® awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Kevin Puts’ Contact) and Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

2025–26 highlights include returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, and National Arts Centre Ottawa. In Europe, she returns to Netherlands Radio Philharmonic with a performance at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and makes her debut at the Finnish National Opera conducting Tosca. This follows her huge success at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she recently conducted Madama Butterfly and Tosca to great acclaim:

“The success of Kurzak’s performance was due in no small part to Xian Zhang’s sensitivity as a conductor. Zhang has an exceptional ear for balance, as well as the ability to draw the softest, most transparent tones imaginable from the orchestra. […] With such skills and obvious audience appeal, Zhang should prove a valuable addition to the Met’s conducting staff.” – New York Classical Review

Other recent highlights include subscription programs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Houston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s (including Brahms Requiem at Carnegie Hall), and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.

Zhang previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra. In 2002, she won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition. She was appointed New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.

Director, writer, and composer Bill Barclay is one of the world’s leading innovators in theatrical concerts. He is Artistic Director of Concert Theatre Works and was Director of Music at Shakespeare’s Globe from 2012–19.

Previous work for the Boston Symphony Orchestra includes Peer Gynt (2017), A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Andris Nelsons, The Soldier’s Tale at Tanglewood with Charles Dutoit, The Chevalier (Tanglewood), and The Magic Flute (with Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra).

Barclay has developed multimedia concerts for the world’s most prominent venues: The Hollywood Bowl, The Kennedy Center, The Barbican, Buckingham Palace, Shakespeare’s Globe, St Martin-inthe-Fields, Washington National Cathedral, and The Southbank Centre. Broadway and West End credits include Farinelli and the King, Twelfth Night, and Richard III, all starring Mark Rylance.

A “personable polymath” (London Times), Barclay’s original works have been described as “witty and incisive” (The New York Times), “quietly transfixing” (The New Yorker), and “quite simply exquisite” (The Guardian). His projects tour to the world’s leading ensembles, including The Chevalier (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, 8 others); Secret Byrd for The Gesualdo Six and Fretwork (20 cities on tour); Antony & Cleopatra (LA Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and others); and Peer Gynt (Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras).

As a composer, Barclay’s composed the historic Hamlet Globe-to-Globe which toured to 189 countries, and Call of the Wild that performed in 42 US states. He has composed 12 productions for Shakespeare’s Globe. His music has been performed three times for the British Royal Family, for President Obama, for the Olympic Torch, at the United Nations, and in refugee camps in Jordan and Calais.

A noted curator, he created the Candlelit Concerts series from the launch of London’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014, partnering with The Royal Opera House and BBC Proms. He founded the label Globe Music, recognized by The Royal Philharmonic Society, for Shakespeare’s Globe where he produced music for 130 productions and 150 concerts over seven years. He currently programs Music Before 1800, “Gotham’s flagship music presenter” (The New Yorker).

A Boston native and past acting company member at Shakespeare & Company (11 years), the Actors Shakespeare Project (10 years, Artistic Associate), and The Mercury Theatre (UK). He trained in Bali, The National Theatre Institute and Vassar College. MFA in Playwriting, Boston University.