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Published: Monday, 19 August 2024 at 10:45 AM

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Let’s come right out and say it: no other composer in the history of classical music changed the symphony more radically than Ludwig van Beethoven.

His First Symphony (1801) clearly pays its respects to his forerunners, and to the great 18th-century classical tradition embodied by Haydn and Mozart. However, each of the eight successive Beethoven symphonies – from the mercurial Second, via the supremely dramatic Fifth and on through the maniacal, dance-inflected Seventh – follows a unique trajectory all of its own. These astonishing works also usher in a new era: one in which composers were no longer subservient to their court patrons and could assert their right to individual expression. Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and so many others would gratefully take up the baton passed to them by Beethoven.

• Read reviews of the latest Beethoven recordings here
• How many symphonies did Beethoven write?

So it’s little wonder that Beethoven’s colossal symphonic legacy both inspired and intimidated later 19th-century composers. From the moment these works entered the repertory, conductors viewed the performance of a Beethoven cycle as a litmus test of their achievements.