Composed in 1808 and dedicated to Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz and Count Andrey Razumovsky, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony was his vivid work in F major, “Pastoral.”
The work is open and expansive, with unraveling, unfolding motifs that hearken to the murmurs of nature. In contrast to his Symphony No. 5 in C minor—a journey from darkness to light, punctuated by Anton Schindler’s description of “fate knocking on the door”—the Sixth was a work of openness. (It is interesting that, from Beethoven’s sketchbooks, we find that both were completed almost simultaneously).
