Even friendship had to give way
in great measure to the passion for creating which had become a
necessity of his existence.
That the life was a tranquil and contented one may be inferred by the
character of the Fourth Symphony. Beethoven loved country life, and
surrounded as he was by his friends, whose first thought was for him, he
had everything to make him satisfied. The serenity which speaks to us
through the Fourth Symphony is something for which the world should ever
be grateful. Our highest happiness often comes to us through the frame
of mind superinduced by external influences. This symphony is a song of
joy, ecstatic in its pure exuberance of spirits; again, it is a
benediction that breathes into our minds somewhat of its own spirit of
calm and content. The storm and stress of life is forgotten; all is
holiday humor. We are in the midst of a Shakespearian comedy, with its
alternations of humor and sentiment, its joyous atmosphere, its idyllic
simplicity; the forest of Arden has come to us. It was written to
celebrate his engagement to the Countess Therese.
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