Any introduction to the work of the great composer Beethoven might begin with this fundamental question: How many symphonies did Beethoven write? And the answer is: Beethoven composed nine complete symphonies.
When did Beethoven write his first symphony?
Beethoven first played around with writing a symphony in 1796, but it wasn't until 1800 that his official First Symphony, in C major, was premiered.
• A Guide to Beethoven's Symphony No. 1
And when did he complete his final symphony?
He went on to compose nine complete symphonies, culminating with the groundbreaking Choral Symphony in D minor, his final complete work in the form, which was first heard in 1824. One of the major works in the symphonic repertoire, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony finished high in our list of the greatest symphonies of all time, where it is joined by the heroic Third (or 'Eroica'), the dramatic Fifth, the bucolic Sixth (or 'Pastoral' Symphony), and the exuberant, dancing Seventh.
- The best recordings of Beethoven's Sixth 'Pastoral' Symphony
- Best pastoral music: five works inspired by the countryside
From the cheerful, Haydnesque First via the heaven-storming Fifth and bucolic Sixth to the dramatic, euphoric Ninth, the Beethoven symphony cycle is an incredible body of work. If perhaps the most significant, it's just one facet of this remarkable man that makes him an easy choice for one of the greatest composers of all time. Lengthy discussions can ensue about whether Beethoven, Mozart or Bach should occupy top spot - why not have a look and see how came out top in our poll?
Which composers wrote nine symphonies?
With his nine completed symphonies, Beethoven set in place a template for future symphonic composers. Among the biggest names in classical music, Dvořák, Mahler and Vaughan Williams all completed nine symphonies.
Elsewhere, Bruckner completed three movements of his Symphony No. 9, but died before finishing the Finale, of which he left only fragments. Recordings of the Bruckner Ninth today vary between those that present only the three movements completed by the composer, and those that present a final movement as completed by others.
In fact, Bruckner completed two other symphonies - the Study Symphony, or Symphony No. 00, and the 'Nullte', or Symphony No. 0 - but as you can see these early efforts were not given proper numbering, as Bruckner was not happy with them, hence the nine completed symphonies.
Other composers reached the number nine by various means. Most cycles of the Schubert symphonies also feature nine works, but here the situation is a little more nuanced. While Schubert's Symphony No. 9 is a completed (and glorious) work, the haunting Eighth, or 'Unfinished' Symphony (clue's in the name) was left unfinished, while a Tenth Symphony exists in sketch form only.
Other composers to have completed nine symphonies include Kurt Atterberg, Malcolm Arnold, Niels Gade and Alexander Glazunov.
What is the 'curse of the ninth'?
Lingering over the question 'how many symphonies did Beethoven write' is an infamous classical music 'curse'.
All these composers reaching nine symphonies but not living to complete a tenth have resulted in a superstition within classical music known as the curse of the ninth. Essentially, this is the belief (or fear!) that a ninth symphony is destined to be a composer's last. After (or while) composing a ninth symphony, so the superstition goes, the composer is fated to die, and never to complete a tenth.
It seems that Mahler began the superstition, having observed that this fate had befallen his predecessors Beethoven and Schubert. Mahler thought he would try to trick death. After completing his Eighth Symphony, Mahler wrote Das Lied von der Erde. This work is, in many ways, a symphony: yet Mahler was able to call it a song cycle instead, as each movement was a setting of a poem for soloist and orchestra.
However, you might say that the curse of the ninth had the last word. Mahler did indeed manage to complete a Ninth Symphony and thought he had beaten the curse: however, he died before finishing his Tenth Symphony.
Did Beethoven begin a Tenth Symphony?
Asking the question 'how many symphonies did Beethoven write?' begs the question: was there a plan for a Tenth? And the answer is: yes.
Sketches for a Tenth Symphony exist, but Beethoven didn't finish the piece. In the 1980s, musicologist Barry Cooper assembled the surviving material to create a performable version, which was played by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1988 and published by Universal Edition in 2013.
Beethoven is reported to have said that one of his preoccupations was the form a tenth symphony should take, as he wished 'to create in it a new gravitational force… this time without a chorus'.
