In this episode, Carlos and St. John explore Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. Composed in 1812, Beethoven’s playful Eighth Symphony looks back to the styles of Haydn and Mozart with nostalgia and humor. Also discussed is Beethoven’s famous “Immortal Beloved” letter, a love letter to a mysterious woman that Beethoven wrote that summer.
Subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher Radio!
Contact Us: onthemusic@houstonsymphony.org
Creative Credits
Carlos Botero, Host
St. John Flynn, Host (Houston Public Media)
Mark DiClaudio, Audio Production and Editing (Houston Public Media)
Todd Hulslander, Technical Supervision (Houston Public Media)
Brad Sayles, Houston Symphony Broadcast Recording Engineer (Houston Public Media)
Calvin Dotsey, Executive Producer
Music Credits
Most orchestral excepts featured in On the Music are taken from archival Houston Symphony recordings. We also supplement these with commercially available recordings to ensure that we respect the rights of our musicians and to fill in gaps in our archives. Credits are listed by order of first appearance.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Christoph Escenbach.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 (1st movement) – Bavarian Radio Symphony. Cond. Mariss Jansons. BEETHOVEN, L. Van: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 / Reflections (Bavarian Radio Symphony, Jansons). 2013. MP3.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 – Bavarian Radio Symphony. Cond. Mariss Jansons. BEETHOVEN, L. Van: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 / Reflections (Bavarian Radio Symphony, Jansons). 2013. MP3.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.
Haydn: Symphony No. 104 – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Christoph Escenbach.
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf. The soloist was Garrick Ohlson, but no piano was featured in the excerpt used.
Haydn: Symphony No. 101, Clock – South West German Radio Symphony. Cond. Roger Norrington. HAYDN, J.: Symphonies Nos. 93-104, “London Symphonies” (South West German Radio Symphony, Norrington). N.d. MP3.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 (movements 2-4) – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Christoph Escenbach.
Mozart: Symphony No. 39 – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.
Sound Effects Credits
Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org. Credits are listed by order of first appearance.
Man Laughing – Male Laughter.wav by Eneasz.
Tinnitus Effect – tinnitus.mp3 by Sclolex.
German-language Background Conversation – pub.WAV by Edrie.
War Sounds – Vanhan ajan sota, taistelu / Ancient, old time battle, combat, horses galloping, men shouting and barking, fencing, swords clanging, guns, cannons, shots, mix by YleArkisto.
Birds – vogel.mp3 by JulianaJK.
Sources/Recommended Reading
Grove, George. Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies.
Hopkins, Antony. The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven. London: Heinemann, 1981. Print.
Lockwood, Lewis. Beethoven: The Music and the Life. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.
Solomon, Maynard. Beethoven. New York: Schirmer Trade, 1998. Print.