This symphony was begun in Teplice in the declining years of his hearing. It was completed in 1812 and premiered in Vienna on December 8th, 1813.
The Seventh Symphony is in four movements:
I. Poco sostenuto-Vivace
II. Allegretto
III. Presto
IV. Allegro con brio The beginning of the piece is rather slow, with the woodwinds carrying most of the melody while the strings provide depth with scales underneath. After building in this fashion, a fermata held by the flute ties over to the Vivace section of the first movement and the theme is introduced for the first time by the woodwinds. This builds up to the main theme with the entire orchestra joyously sounding the theme together.
The allegretto was the most popular movement and was encored at the premiere. The figure of crotchet, two quavers, then two crotchets is heard quite often is this movement and it moves on to the...
Presto/trio. It's a rather catchy tune that Richard Wagner described as "the apothesis of dance". The meter repeats itself and eventually ends.
The final movement, Allegro con brio, is in sonata form. The theme of the movement can be heard in the beginning and it can be heard repeatedly in various parts of the movement as it progresses. The tension builds and at the end there's a swift decrescendo before a gradual crescendo as the strings and the brass follow the timpani's lead, charging the orchestra towards this symphony's majestic end.
My thoughts: One of the very few classical pieces that drove me to tears when I first heard it. Most likely will do so if I saw it live again. I feel it's a shame that his 9th symphony is so much popular than this one because between the two, I much prefer the grandeur of this symphony than his famous 9th Symphony. I still have about 6 more symphonies I haven't quite listened to yet (I have the CDs here somewhere...) but as of this moment, this is most definately my all-time favorite symphony (second is Mendelssohn's 5th Symphony: Reformation).