Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Abstract

During the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Spohr was ranked close to Beethoven in contemporary musical opinion. After a few decades it became clear that Spohr was no innovator, but in many respects had clung to a late Classical-era style of composition. The fact that his symphonies and many concertos were well conceived and skillfully executed did not forestall his near disappearance from the concert halls. This was written in 1820, by which time Beethoven had written all his symphonies except the Symphony No. 9. Beethoven had left this style behind years earlier.

But today it should not bother the listener that in retrospect the piece sounds more like 1802 than 1820. It has very attractive melodies and a well-planned, balanced way of developing them. It was written in London for an April 1820 concert of the Philharmonic Society, which also went down into musical history as the first time (in England, at any rate) anyone had conducted an orchestra using a baton. Spohr had actually made that innovation on the Continent not long before.