Symphony

Pastoral Symphony

0 upcoming performances in New York

At NJPAC, the New Jersey Symphony performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the “Pastoral,” a landmark in early 19th-century programmatic writing. Its five movements trace a day in the countryside—arrival, a stream-side scene, a village gathering, a storm, and a closing hymn of thanks—without turning narrative into literal sound effects. Long familiar to New York City concert life since the 19th century, it also marks Beethoven edging from Classical balance toward a more Romantic sense of atmosphere. One can hear how carefully he makes landscape serve structure.