Kent Nagano conducts Beethoven's Symphonies No. 2 and No. 6

In this concert program, the OSM explores the Symphony No. 2 in D Major and No. 6 in F Major, both among Beethoven’s most lighthearted symphonic works. Though they share a boundless vitality, the differing circumstances surrounding their origins reflect two very different moments in their creator’s personal and artistic journey. The Second Symphony was written in 1801 and 1802, at a dark time when the young composer's looming deafness was driving him to desperation. The work’s joyful humor (Berlioz noted that "this Symphony is smiling throughout") seems to reflect Beethoven's attempt to escape from his depression. Composed just six years later in 1808 and subtitled "Pastoral Symphony, or Recollections of Country Life", the Sixth Symphony captures a calmer, more contemplative Beethoven using his art to explore a personal connection with nature that he considered indispensable.