Steve Schwartz replied to Deryk Barker:

>>I believe RVW acknowledged using Beethoven 5 as the structural model for
>>his 4th symphony.
>
>He also admitted to "cribbing" the opening chord from the finale of
>Beethoven's 9th.

That's fascinating!  I've heard VW's 4th many times and never noticed.
The first chord does indeed sound like the first chord of the finale of
Beethoven's 9th.  It just so happens that I have recently become interested
in ways that Vaughn Williams was influenced by Beethoven.  The subject is
fascinating to me partly because you wouldn't think there would be much of
a connection between VW and Beethoven.

Here are some possible connections:

1) They both wrote nine symphonies.

2) They both wrote a "Pastoral" symphony.

3) VW's 4th -- as mentioned in this thread, plus the first chord &
Beethoven's 9th.

4) This is a long shot, but may have potential: Their 8th Symphonies have
some similarities.  The joyful and playful mood of the last movement of
the VW 8 is in a similar spirit to the last movement of Beethoven's 8th.

5) VW shows off the saxaphones in the 9th similar to the way Beethoven
shows off the horns in the Eroica.  While the saxaphones are important
throughout, they really show their true colors in the third movement, in
a way that remotely resembles a trio (although the movement isn't in A-B-A
form).  In the Eroica, the horns strut their stuff in the trio of the third
movement.

6) Again, this is a long shot: the four-note motif in the first mvt of
VW's 8th reminds me of the everpresent four-note motifs (in various forms)
in the late Beethoven Quartets.  The mysterious mood of the four notes
in VW's 8th reinforces this similarity in my mind.

That's all I can come up with at present.  Can anyone think of other
connections between Beethoven and Vaughn Williams?

Mike