Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, 4th movement | Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

“He’s ripe for the madhouse!“ wrote the composer Carl Maria von Weber. Who was? Ludwig van Beethoven. And why? Weber had just heard a performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony with its rollicking fourth movement. It can be amusing to read how the first listeners reacted to a composition that is today a classic. Weber wasn’t the only critical voice. Clara Schumann’s father, Friedrich Wieck, thought that “this symphony – particularly the first and the last movements – could only have been written in a state of inebriation.“ Fast-forward from then to now: Do you need a lift? Listen to this finale to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, opus 92, marked “Allegro con brio“ (Fast, with verve). This performance by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under the musical direction of Paavo Järvi is guaranteed to lift your spirits. The swirl of energy and joy came from a man who was financially troubled, chronically ill and rapidly losing what was