Beethoven’s Pastoral

In the woods outside Vienna, Beethoven found the restorative peace he so sorely missed in the city. There he found inspiration for the Pastoral, perhaps the most blissful of all his symphonies. Beethoven, in turn, was a great example to Anton Webern, who also fled Vienna to catch his breath in the mountains. His symphony, small and delicate as a snowflake, is the resonant result.