Beethoven's Orchestral Music

Beethoven’s orchestral works include some of the most iconic pieces of music ever written. Veteran music critic David Hurwitz surveys all of the symphonies, overtures, concertos, theatrical music, his single ballet and other music for the dance, and several short pieces. It also features extensive discographies and recommended recordings.

Music critic, percussionist, and author David Hurwitz is the founder and executive editor of Classicstoday.com, the Internet's first classical music review magazine. Holding M.A. degrees from Johns Hopkins and Stanford University, Hurwitz is the author of books on Mozart, Mahler, Sibelius, Haydn, Dvorák, Brahms, Beethoven, Shostakovich, R. Strauss, CPE Bach, Bernstein, Handel, and Mendelssohn. His musicological articles have been published in noted journals such as Music & Letters, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, and Ad Parnassum. A native of Wilmington, DE, he currently divides his time between Brooklyn, NY and Milford, Connecticut.

Preface Part I: Listening to Beethoven 1. Beethoven and the Orchestra 2. Beethoven's Dynamic Forms Part II: Overtures Discography 3. Theatrical Overtures 4. Concert Overtures Interlude 1: Dance Music Part III: Concertos and Concerted Works Discography 5. General Introduction to Concerto Forms 6. Concertos for Piano 7. Concerto and Romances for Violin 8. Triple Concerto and Choral Fantasy Interlude 2: Incidental Music Part IV: Symphonies Discography 9. Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 10. Symphonies Nos. 3 "Eroica" and 4 11. Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 "Pastoral" 12. Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8 13. Wellington's Victory (a.k.a. "Battle Symphony") 14. Symphony No. 9 "Choral" Conclusion: The Quasi-Orchestral Beethoven