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Beethovenfest

DW staff (kjb)September 14, 2007

Beethoven's Second Symphony was written just before the composer's famous "Heiligenstadt Testament," an unsent letter in which he expressed suicidal thoughts due to his increasing deafness.

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Cairo Conservatory of Music Orchestra
Cairo Conservatory of Music OrchestraImage: Barbara Frommann

Still, the piece is charged with vitality and humor. Upon its premiere in Vienna in 1803, critics called the symphony "eccentric." Today's listeners can decide for themselves.

The Cairo Conservatory of Music Orchestra performed Beethoven's D Major Symphony under the direction of Ivan Filev as part of the 2007 Beethovenfest.