The first movement's spirited romp gives way only to occasional episodes of comical galumphing. The joyous and exuberant outer movements both build to hair-raising climaxes. The Seventh, a sprawling, jovial giant, is notable for the compelling power of its rhythms, with each movement dominated by the very characteristic rhythmic pattern of its principal theme. By 1816, the Seventh was available in no fewer than six published arrangements for playing at home or in social gatherings (among them wind nonet, string quintet, piano trio, and piano four hands), a mark of popularity in an era when such arrangements filled the function that recordings have now. A repeat of the entire concert was quickly put on four days later, and the music was done again in January and February, with Beethoven adding the Eighth Symphony for good measure. The Symphony was also a hit, its jubilance fitting the occasion of its premiere so well that the critic of the Wiener Zeitung referred to it as a "companion piece" to Wellington's Victory. Wellington's Victory was a sensation, and became the most popular work of Beethoven's career. The execution was a complete masterpiece, in spite of the uncertain and frequently laughable direction of Beethoven." According to Spohr, "The new compositions of Beethoven pleased extremely, particularly the Symphony in A the wonderful second movement was encored and also made upon me a deep and lasting impression. The concert was a stellar affair, with famous composers (Salieri, Hummel, Spohr, and Meyerbeer among them) joining in the orchestra. With the end of the Napoleonic era in sight, if not at hand, Beethoven composed Wellington's Victory and presented it, along with the Seventh Symphony, in a concert on December 8, 1813, to benefit Austrian soldiers who had been wounded in the battle of Hanau that fall (Napoleon had won that one).
In the meantime, Napoleon had met with disaster in Russia and Wellington had defeated the French at Vittoria. The name of the variation is a cryptic reference to the Old Testament patriarch of the same name, chronicled as a "a mighty hunter…", the German word for 'hunter' being Jäger.Beethoven began his Seventh Symphony in the fall of 1811 and finished it in mid-1812, but it had to wait until the end of 1813 for its first performance.
Once, at a time when Elgar was depressed and ready to give up composing, his friend Augustus J. Elgar claimed that this variation is not really a portrait, but 'the story of something that happened'. The best-known variation is the solemn Variation IX (Adagio) 'Nimrod'. The first is - fittingly - about his wife and includes a four-note fragment he tended to whistle to her with when returning home. Each variation is inscribed with the initials of the titular friend.
This theme and its fourteen associated character illustrations became the Enigma Variations. One day, after a long stretch of teaching, Edward Elgar sat at the piano and found at his fingertips - a tune! His wife, Caroline Alice, responded with enthusiasm and Elgar began improvising variations based on the personalities of his friends.