The Septet That Swept Europe
CAN YOU GUESS which of Beethoven’s works was by far the most popular during his early career? Well, you probably have not even heard of it—much less heard it—because the piece called for an unusual combination of seven instruments and belonged to a “divertimento” genre that went out of style in the mid 18th century. But it’s a fascinating story, and you’re about to have a rare opportunity to hear the piece performed again, by Chamber Music Charleston.
When Beethoven was 30, he organized a concert at Vienna’s Burgtheater mainly to present his own works. Concerts were long in those days, and the program included his First Symphony, a piano concerto, a Mozart symphony, excerpts from Haydn’s The Creation, Beethoven’s piano improvisations, and his newly penned Septet for Winds and Strings in E-Flat Major, Opus 20. According to a newspaper review at the time, the orchestral playing was slipshod, but the septet, calling for only seven musicians, was neater and immediately won the audience. Within a year, the septet was being performed throughout Europe.
Beethoven recognized the septet’s commercial value and encouraged his publisher to issue it not only in its original instrumentation—clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass (which is what you will hear)—but in other arrangements as well. He suggested, for example, that the winds be replaced by a second violin, second viola, and second cello. He also suggested that it be arranged as a work for flute.
The original Burg Theater in Vienna
He himself later transcribed the septet as a trio for piano, violin, and clarinet and published the work in this form as Opus 38. Soon, however, Beethoven grew tired of the work and became fed up with its repeated performance. His friend, Carl Czerny, recorded: “He could not endure his septet and grew angry because of the universal applause that it received.” Several years later, an English visitor told Beethoven how much his septet was admired in London. “That damned thing!” the composer responded. “I wish it were burned!” He feared that its popularity would eclipse his other more mature works.
One reason for this septet’s popularity was that it was a throwback to the “divertimento” style of the mid 18th-century—the style prevailing before Haydn’s development of the symphony and string quartet. Instead of four movements designed for serious playing and listening, the septet was a six-movement work of lighter musical weight. It made fewer demands on audiences who welcomed it as musical entertainment, like a serenade.
Chamber Music Charleston • Septet Players
But the septet was also one of the more forward-looking works of Beethoven’s early years in that it broke important new ground for the use of wind instruments in chamber music. Whereas previous composers had featured one wind instrument with a group of strings—as Mozart did in his clarinet quintet—the septet was the first successful attempt to combine three featured winds with strings, with each instrument having its own independent musical line.
Although Beethoven himself went no farther in that direction, his septet paved the way for other composers to write chamber music for or with wind instruments—including Schubert, who added a second violin in his Octet of 1824. By 1850, the genre had largely been superseded, and today Beethoven’s septet is seldom performed.
Things to listen for
In the septet, Beethoven combines the winds and strings in two ways. In some sections, he divides the ensemble into two groups, each with a leader. Thus, the strings are led by the violin and the winds by the clarinet. As a result, the septet often sounds like a chamber concerto for two instruments. In other sections, Beethoven allows each of the instruments, with one exception, to express its characteristic tone quality through solo passages. The exception is the double bass, which is used throughout to provide a harmonic foundation.
Beethoven borrowed the theme for the third movement, a minuet, from his piano sonata, Opus 49, No. 2, but the treatment here is different. In particular, the trio features a tricky passage in triplets for the horn.
The fourth movement (which you can hear in this YouTube recording) is a theme with five variations and a coda. According to Beethoven’s friend Czerny, the theme was based on a Rhenish folksong, “Ach Schiffer, lieber Schiffer” (Oh skipper, dear skipper). Strings dominate the theme and the first two sections. The winds become prominent in the remaining variations and coda. This is followed by a scherzo, propelled by a downward phrase for the horn. The trio features a long cello solo.
The most serious music in the septet is the introduction to the finale, in slow march time and a funereal minor. The main presto section reverts to the major but with occasional minor shadows. The violin presents the main theme, with an unusual tonal coloring resulting from the composer’s instruction that it be played entirely on the instrument’s lowest string. The movement is again in sonata form, but with a cadenza for the violin to usher in the restatement of the main theme.
The popularity and influence of Beethoven’s septet helped establish his reputation as a young composer and innovator, and it is as fine a divertimento as there ever was. This performance by Chamber Music Charleston will also be unique because they will play this piece only. And six of the seven instruments will be featured with solos. It promises to be a listening and learning delight. You’ll have plenty to talk about over dinner at the High Cotton Maverick Bar & Grill.
Acknowledgments
This text was adapted from the following online sources: Will Hertz, Tim Summers, The Kennedy Center, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.
