Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

Symphony No. 6 in F major, the 'Pastoral', is a symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed and first performed in 1808. It adopts a descriptive, programme-based approach that evokes rural scenes through lyrical woodwind writing, rustic rhythmic figures and expansive string textures, and marks a turn in Beethoven's middle-period output toward more explicitly narrative, nature-inspired orchestral writing that points forward to early Romantic sensibilities.