Symphonie Nr. 7 A-Dur op. 92

Beethoven’s Eighth Seventh Symphony was completed in the spring of 1812, but its premiere was delayed until 8 December 1813, when it was performed in the auditorium of Vienna University with the composer himself conducting. The symphony was played along with Beethoven’s orchestral work “Wellingtons Sieg” (Wellington’s Victory) at a benefit concert, held just a few weeks after the battle of Leipzig in an effort to raise money for soldiers injured in the wars of liberation. Beethoven’s progressive deafness was already very advanced by this point in his life, but the piece still seems like an expression of pure joie de vivre. The second movement, with its strong rhythm, got such an enthusiastic reception from the audience that it had to be repeated.

This recording was made by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 1936. It is conducted here by its principal conductor Felix Weingartner (1863–1942), who is credited with establishing its worldwide reputation. After a career that saw him earn respect and admiration abroad, he came back to Vienna in 1935/36 as director of the State Opera, before emigrating to Switzerland in 1936. Weingartner was one of the first conductors to record a comprehensive range of his work. He made several recordings of Beethoven’s complete symphonies, and also penned his book “Ratschläge für die Aufführung der Symphonien Beethovens” (Advice for Performing Beethoven’s Symphonies) in 1906.
(Constanze Köhn)