The first movement of the Symphony #6 (‘Awakening of happy feelings on arrival in the country’) is followed by another long movement (‘Scene by the Brook’). This gives a hymn-like, feeling which is maintained by the return to F for the scherzo (‘The merry making of country-folk’).
Had there not been a distinct departure into F minor for ‘The Storm’ fourth section, the F major ‘Hymn of thanksgiving’ finale would not convey the sense of completion.
The storm does everything in Beethoven’s power to subvert the fundamental F major, pastoral stasis, churning through every key known to man. The orchestration of the storm is also an extraordinary exercise in musical impressionism, with double basses and cellos fudging each other’s lines to create a deep rumbling. Nothing like it was to be heard for another 100 years.
In purely musical terms, the storm is the introduction to the finale, without which it would be another leisurely panorama, hardly distinguishable from the pace of the other movements. Indeed, since the scherzo, storm and finale are played without a break, there is as much justification for regarding the symphony as a three- rather than a five-movement construct.
Here is Herbert Blomstedt to lead this masterpiece:
https://youtu.be/XKJyy7Cv06A
