In November 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he would live for the rest of his life. Vienna was Europe's musical center, and the young pianist and composer recognized at an early age the need to establish himself there. He brought the technique and fiery temperament of a virtuoso pianist, but few compositions. The most famous living composer was Haydn - Mozart had died the previous year - and part of Beethoven's motivation for going to Vienna was the opportunity to meet the older master. He even became Haydn's composition pupil for a short time, but the relationship went poorly, and Beethoven had only a few lessons before the meetings were discontinued. Beethoven may have been tempted to view Haydn as a washed-up anachronism, but Haydn's continued critical success flew in the face of such an assessment. His final set of six symphonies, premiered in London during 1794-95, were superbly received both in London and upon the composer's return to Vienna; his magnificent oratorio The Creation, dating from 1798, humbled even Beethoven with its depth of inspiration.
The younger composer, meanwhile, produced some chamber music (including the six string quartets of opus 18), two piano concertos, and some sonatas for solo piano. His music was well regarded, and he was attracting interest from publishers, but he had not yet attracted the widespread attention that he felt befitted a composer of his stature. He thus arranged to stage his own concert, on 2 April 1800, featuring several of his own works. In terms of Beethoven's recognition and future development as a composer, the most important event on the program was the premiere of his First Symphony. As it turned out, critical reaction to the symphony was only mildly favorable, but the event can nonetheless be identified as a turning point in Beethoven's career.
Compared to Haydn's last symphonies, Beethoven's first attempt at the form has a tighter motivic organization and a coarseness of sound and gesture that differentiates his upbringing from that of the aristocratic Haydn. The first sound of the piece is a dominant seventh chord, and while it sounds fairly ordinary to today's ears, it was a surprising, unprepared dissonance to Classical audiences. The body of the first movement is unified by a three-note melodic cell, which not only generates the entire first theme but also makes appearances in the supporting instruments. The wind instruments, particularly the solo woodwinds, are used more frequently than in a typical Haydn work - a feature that attracted the wary attention of critics. The third movement, although still bearing the traditional title "Minuet," is way too fast for dancing: instead, it demonstrates the rhythmically unsettled character that would characterize the symphonic "Scherzo," a form that Beethoven developed nearly on his own.
Througout his career, Beethoven's progress as a symphonic composer was inexorable, but measured. The massive Symphony #3, "Eroica," would not be completed until late 1803, even though the composer was remarkably productive during his early thirties; the great Fifth Symphony, frequently offered as the quintessential Beethoven masterpiece, had to wait until early 1808. Unlike those of Haydn or Mozart, each of Beethoven's nine symphonies establishes new ground and is wholly different from the others. The Symphony #1 is a necessary link between what came before and what would follow.