Music

Symphony No. 6

Ludwig van Beethoven1809

F major, Op. 68. Composed 1808. First performed 22 December 1808, Theater an der Wien. Dedicated to Joseph Francis, 7th Prince of Lobkowicz and Andrii Rozumovskyi.

5 movements, 36:452 pictures

Pastoral Symphony: no picture, but something in which the emotions are expressed which are aroused in men by the pleasure of the country (or), in which some feelings of country-life are set forth.
Ludwig van Beethoven, sketch-book note for the Sixth Symphony, in George Grove's translation. In George Grove, Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies, 1896, p. 191. Source
All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a failure.
Ludwig van Beethoven, sketch-book note for the Sixth Symphony, in George Grove's translation. In George Grove, Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies, 1896, p. 191. Source
'Pastoral Symphonie; mehr Ausdruck der Empfindung als Malerey' — 'more expression of feeling than painting,' or, to render it freely, 'rather the record of impressions than any actual representation of facts.'
George Grove, on Beethoven's heading in the programme of the first performance, 22 December 1808. In George Grove, Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies, 1896, p. 188. Source

Movements

On the wall

The Brook of Les Puits-Noir, Gustave Courbet

Same subject, with II. Scene by the brook

The Brook of Les Puits-Noir

Gustave Courbetc. 1855

Beethoven headed the second movement "Scene by the brook". Courbet's painting is titled The Brook of Les Puits-Noir.

The Art Institute of Chicago

Sketch for View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow), Thomas Cole

Same subject, with V. Shepherd's song: happy and thankful feelings after the storm

Sketch for View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow)

Thomas Cole1836

The finale's heading ends "after the storm", and Cole's title ends "after a Thunderstorm".

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Sourcesread 2026-10-09

Description
symphony by Ludwig van BeethovenWikidata
Key
F majorWikidataMusicBrainzIMSLP
Catalogue
Op. 68IMSLP
Composed
1808WikidataIMSLP
First performed
1808-12-22WikidataIMSLP
First performed in
Theater an der WienWikidataVienna, Theater an der WienIMSLP
Dedicated to
Joseph Francis, 7th Prince of LobkowiczWikidataAndrii RozumovskyiWikidataJoseph Franz von LobkowitzIMSLPAndrey RazumovskyIMSLP
For
symphony orchestraWikidataorchestraIMSLP

Recordings

All 5
Ludwig van Beethoven. This work comes from the non profit U.S. organization Musopen where it is available at the following link: http://www.musopen.com The Musopen website requires all uploaders to "represent and warrant that content uploaded to the site is in the public domain" (see FAQ #4 ). Musopen's own works ( "Musopen Materials" and "Musopen Service", not user content or public domain content ), are fully copyrighted and may not be used freely as stated in their Terms and Conditions of Use .. Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsPDM-1.0Sources12345
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