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We are at the dawn of the 1800s, Beethoven has just turned thirty, he is already quite established and has just published his first symphony without an enthusiastic outcome, remaining in the footsteps and qualitatively below the Masters of the genre, namely the creator Haydn and the great Mozart, but this certainly did not reduce his ambition to go "beyond," to surpass those who so excellently preceded him.
In the first two years of the new century, he composed his second symphony, which Ludwig himself would perform for the first time in Vienna in the spring of 1803 in honor of the second Prince Lichnowsky, Karl, who was almost a contemporary of Mozart and had greatly appreciated and supported him until his untimely death. An "interested" dedication? Probably yes, almost a request for authoritative consecration from one of the greatest musical patrons of the time. Perhaps this drive and optimism can explain the serenity and happiness that this work transmits, except perhaps the last movement, which is decidedly a significant emotional step forward compared to the first symphony.
In essence, the symphony is classically composed of four movements, the first of which opens with an Adagio where one can already (and even) identify what will be a leading theme of the last symphony and soon gives way to the Allegro con brio where tensions breaking the substantially serene and joyful climate, often evoked by the winds, are already perceived, frequently overwhelmed by the strings. The second movement represents the highest point of the entire composition, a Larghetto of such serenity and breadth that it reconciles our mood in difficult moments, those that must have characterized the great artist's existence at the time. Besides the contingent amorous disappointments, in fact, Ludwig was gradually, but unequivocally, discovering the symptoms of deafness....... imagine what it could mean for a Composer and Orchestra Director to suffer from this disorder! Yet, he certainly did not lose heart, quite the contrary, and what follows will consecrate him as one of the greatest Musicians of all time. Returning to the second movement, in my humble opinion, from this point, Beethoven begins to be "beyond" without waiting for the Eroica, one of those pieces I suggest after a stressful day of troubles, forget ambient music!
The debut of the third movement is very delightful and catchy, not coincidentally defined by the author as Scherzo, a term more suitable to describe the irony of this piece compared to the classic Minuet, a musical neologism that confirms what was written about the second movement and already tends to break with the Haydian tradition. The fourth and last movement, known as Allegro molto, is highly contrasted and even nervous, where calm moments are often overshadowed by the orchestra's impetuous bursts, which lead one to think of the physical and mental turmoil the author was undergoing, at times so discouraged that he ended up writing his material will. The closure of this work represents a sort of farewell to the (musical) past: from the next symphony, music will change, even though we already have strong hints of it here.
I conclude by noting that the edition from which I drew some notes and preferred during listening is the first with orchestral direction by Herbert von Karajan in the presence of the Berlin Philharmonic, dating back to 1963....... and yet the (stereo) recording was so valid that it sounds great! In my opinion, the 1977 edition and the subsequent digital one are less exciting, even though they are part of my personal collection. The judgment is favored by the reference to the already-reviewed first symphony, which is decidedly superior to the present and with the Eroica, which followed (indisputably a timeless masterpiece). An indirect flaw of the second symphony can be easily identified: it is very rarely performed, less so than even the first, which sometimes gets included in symphonic programs as a mere curiosity, a real pity that results in its scarce knowledge.
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