It is perhaps the most cheerful of Beethoven's symphonies – his Symphony No. 4 in B♭ major, Op. 60. It’s here being performed by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Stefan Soltész, at the 2021 Beethovenfest in the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB).

(00:00) I. Adagio - Allegro vivace
(12:03) II. Adagio
(21:54) III. Allegro vivace
(27:35) IV. Allegro ma non troppo

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed his fourth symphony in 1806, in a comparatively short amount of time. Its premiere in March of 1807 was held in private, and conducted by the composer himself. The first public performance was held in November of that same year. The Symphony No. 4 was well received during the composer's lifetime, but fell under later criticism. When held up against Beethoven's monumental Symphonies Nos. 3, 5, and 9 – it appears somewhat flat; less pregnant with meaning. The sunny nature of the Fourth should not however obscure the fact that it, too, is an expression of a theme which lay outside the usual bounds of music, and a formidable one at that; the theme of freedom.

Beethoven had been previously preoccupied with his opera Fidelio – the paradigm of the ‘rescue opera’ genre – which first premiered in 1805, with a second incarnation being staged in March of 1806. Beethoven's fourth symphony may be considered the continuation of Fidelio’s theme of liberation. The first movement, for instance, begins with a slow, brooding introduction, upon which the fast, lilting main theme bursts in as a liberating blow. Beethoven also references his sole opera in movements which follow. There is, however, an additional, programmatic parallel between Beethoven's Fourth and Fidelio: Both pieces deal with love. In the opera, the theme is openly played out, yet in the Symphony No. 4 it is expressed as a gesture, or a mood. Beethoven was experiencing a contented love affair with the Countess Josephine Deym von Stritetz while he was composing his fourth symphony.

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