This is the final 3 movements of Beethoven's sixth symphony (op. 68) as arranged by Franz Liszt and performed by Cyprien Katsaris for solo piano. Beethoven completed this symphony in 1808. Franz Liszt arranged all 9 of Beethoven's symphonies for solo piano, which were published as a complete set in 1865. Cyprien Katsaris compared Liszt's transcriptions to Beethoven's original score and felt there were sections where notes could be added for instruments which were left out.

Beethoven's sixth symphony is also known as the "Pastoral Symphony." Beethoven provided a description of each movement. The English translation of these movements are "Merry gathering of country folk," "Thunder, Storm," and "Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm." The following description of these movements is taken from Wikipedia:

"III. Allegro
The third movement is a scherzo in 3/4 time, which depicts country folk dancing and reveling. It is in F major, returning to the main key of the symphony. The movement is an altered version of the usual form for scherzi, in that the trio appears twice rather than just once, and the third appearance of the scherzo theme is truncated. Perhaps to accommodate this rather spacious arrangement, Beethoven did not mark the usual internal repeats of the scherzo and the trio. Theodor Adorno identifies this scherzo as the model for the scherzos by Anton Bruckner.

The final return of the theme conveys a riotous atmosphere with a faster tempo. The movement ends abruptly, leading without a pause into the fourth movement.

IV. Allegro
The fourth movement, in F minor and 4/4 time, depicts a violent thunderstorm with painstaking realism, building from just a few drops of rain to a great climax with thunder, lightning, high winds, and sheets of rain. The storm eventually passes, with an occasional peal of thunder still heard in the distance. There is a seamless transition into the final movement. This movement parallels Mozart's procedure in his String Quintet in G minor K. 516 of 1787, which likewise prefaces a serene final movement with a long, emotionally stormy introduction.

V. Allegretto
The finale, which is in F major, is in 6/8 time. The movement is in sonata rondo form, meaning that the main theme appears in the tonic key at the beginning of the development as well as the exposition and the recapitulation. Like many classical finales, this movement emphasizes a symmetrical eight-bar theme, in this case representing the shepherds' song of thanksgiving.

The coda starts quietly and gradually builds to an ecstatic culmination for the full orchestra (minus "storm instruments") with the first violins playing very rapid triplet tremolo on a high F. There follows a fervent passage suggestive of prayer, marked by Beethoven pianissimo, sotto voce; most conductors slow the tempo for this passage. After a brief period of afterglow, the work ends with two emphatic F-major chords"

Sources:

Sheet Music: [ Ссылка ]

Symphony 6: [ Ссылка ]
Liszt Transcriptions: [ Ссылка ]

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