Symphony in E-flat (A. Reicha)

composed in Bonn, c. 1790–91

Instrumentation: flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, two horns, timpani, and strings

Of the four symphonies Reicha wrote in Bonn, the Symphony in E-Flat Major is in many respects the most forward-looking. As with the rest of his Bonn orchestral music, he works on a broad canvas, fashioning a work that in its entirety lasts over half an hour. It is possible that his overall design, including the choice of C minor for the third movement, was influenced by his uncle Josef’s symphony in the same key. The second movement begins as a true funeral march in the most extravagant contemporary French style whose second half, quite unconventionally, departs into a very different character. The fiery third movement is a “Menuetto” in name only: its rapid tempo and minor-key fury show all the hallmarks of the Beethovenian scherzo, here made all the more interesting for being contemporaneous with Beethoven’s own first essays in the style.

Sources

1. Mentioned in Reicha's letter to Artaria from October 1797.
2. Autograph Score, Bibliothèque nationale de France (F-Pn), MS-9153

• Analysis
• Scan at Gallica

Overview

I. Allegro

• E-flat major
  
• 400 measures
  

II. Largo

• G minor – E-flat major
  
• 55 measures
  

III. Menuetto molto vivace – Trio

• C minor – E-flat major
  
• 86 measures
  

IV. Finale. Allegro molto vivace

• E-flat major
  
• 510 measures