Beethoven: symphonist par excellence. Napoleon Bonaparte ; Orchestral weight ; Delusions of virility ; Structure ; Jean Paul's "Cloven hoof" -- Symphonies -- Prolegomenon to the individual symphonies. On idle speculations ; On portentous prologues to ebullient finales ; On elemental beginnings ; On archetypal images ; On memorable fugato passages ; On striking dissonances ; On "false" entries ; On the escapades of the timpani ; On highly expressive foreshortenings ; On Beethoven's fondness for the eroica ; On crossing a threshold -- The symphonies. Symphony no. 1 in C major, op. 21 ; Symphony no. 2 in D major, op. 36 ; Symphony no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 55 (eroica) ; Symphony no. 4 in B-flat major, op. 60 ; Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67 ; Symphony no. 6 in F major, op. 68 (pastoral) ; Symphony no. 7 in A major, op. 92 ; Symphony no. 8 in F major, op. 93 ; Symphony no. 9 in D minor, op. 125
