Beethoven – Symphony No.4 in B♭ major (1806)

This gorgeous symphony is often overlooked as it’s sandwiched between the ground-breaking ‘Eroica’ and the woah-what-are-you-doing Symphony 5.

There’s not much in this that is comparatively ‘new’ in the way of 3 or 5, but just enjoy the real ‘Beethoven-ness’ of it – the slow introduction in the first movement which meanders through keys and inventive orchestration to A minor (in a B flat major symphony…), then gets stuck on the A, which transfigures into a leading note, with some Mozart Jupiter style ornaments and then erupting into one of Beethoven’s most joyous first movements.

Many think of Beethoven as a stern miserable musical driving force, but there’s plenty of evidence to see that he had joy and some of that mischievous Haydn-esque qualities!