"Allegro vivace e con brio" from Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93

Beethoven finished his Eighth Symphony in 1812, alongside the mighty Seventh, and made it everything the Seventh is not: compact, witty, affectionately Haydnesque. He called it "my little Symphony in F" and reportedly considered it the better of the pair. The first movement dispenses with any introduction — the theme simply bursts in — and runs on jolting accents and sudden dynamic pranks. This concert presents that opening Allegro vivace e con brio.