Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 | Bernard Haitink & the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (2009)

Triumph and tragedy: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink. The audience loved this 2009 concert at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. (00:00) Introduction (00:35) I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace (14:46) II. Allegretto (22:46) III. Presto (32:08) IV. Allegro con brio Ask a person on the street what their favorite Beethoven symphony is, and they’ll likely say the Fifth, or the Ninth. But ask a classical musician, and a surprising number of times you’ll hear: The Seventh. “Here every impetuosity, every longing and ranting of the heart becomes a blissful exuberance of joy.“ Those effusive words came from the pen of composer Richard Wagner, when he was describing the Symphony No. 7 in A Major, opus 92 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827). Composed between 1811 and 1812, Beethoven’s Seventh provoked very different reactions from the beginning – it seems to have touched everyone deeply. The main themes