Symphony No. 6



Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 6 in F major, op. 68 ,“The Pastoral” was written almost simultaneously with The 5th Symphony, but differs from it in theme. If Symphony No.5 deals with the struggle and the joy of victory, “The Pastoral” represents the expression of the love the composer holds for nature.

In a letter to Therese Malfatti in the summer of 1808, Beethoven said " How happy I am to be able to walk among the shrubs, the trees, the woods, the grass and the rocks! For the woods, the trees and the rocks give man the resonance he needs."

Beethoven's great love of nature, the delight in strolling through the woods of Heilllingenstadt, the fact that he always found his equilibrium in the heart of nature, all these led to the creation of his sixth symphony. This programmatic endeavor is clearly expressed through the suggestive title of the symphony, as well as through the titles of each segment of it, through this initiating the later direction of his programmatic symphonies and even of his symphonic poems(Antony 1981).

When he found refuge in the midst of nature, he jotted down themes inspired by the trill of birds, the trickling of creeks or the rustle of leaves. In a notebook from 1803 was found an outline of a river's trickling with the additional note: " The greater the river, the more grave the tone."

Beethoven rose much higher than his predecessors who tried to capture the gist of nature, because he places man with his feelings and sensitivity in the heart of nature. And this is confirmed by the very title he places on the cover of the first edition (Breitkoph & Hartel) and that is: "Pastoral-Sinfonie oder Erinnerung an das Landleben. (Mehr Ausdruck der Emphindung als Mahlerey.)" - “Pastoral ...