Saturday Morning Symphonic

This is a weekly column. I will choose a symphonic piece every Saturday as i see fit.

For this week, i chose Beethoven's Eroica Symphony.

The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55) by Ludwig van Beethoven (known as the Eroica which is Italian for "heroic") is a musical work sometimes cited as marking the end of the Classical Era and the beginning of musical Romanticism.

Beethoven had originally conceived of dedicating the symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte. The biographer Maynard Solomon relates that Beethoven admired the ideals of the French Revolution, and Napoleon as their embodiment. In the autumn the composer began to have second thoughts about that dedication. It would have deprived him of a fee that he would receive if he instead dedicated the symphony to Prince Franz Joseph Maximillian Lobkowitz. Nevertheless, he still considered giving the work the title of Bonaparte.

When Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of the French in May 1804, Beethoven became disgusted and went to the table where the completed score lay. He took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently with a knife that he created a hole in the paper.^[1] He later changed the title to Sinfonia eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire d'un grand'uomo ("heroic symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man"). His assistant Ferdinand Ries tells the story in his biography of Beethoven:

“

In writing this symphony Beethoven had been thinking of Buonaparte, but Buonaparte while he was First Consul. At that time Beethoven had the highest esteem for him and compared him to the greatest consuls of ancient Rome. Not only I, but many of Beethoven's closer friends, saw this symphony on his table, beautifully copied in manuscript, with the word "Buonaparte" inscribed at the very top of the title-page and "Ludwig van Beethoven" at the very bottom. …I was the first to tell him the news that Buonaparte had declared himself Emperor, whereupon he broke into a rage and exclaimed, "So he is no more than a common mortal! Now, too, he will tread under foot all the rights of man, indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men, become a tyrant!" Beethoven went to the table, seized the top of the title-page, tore it in half and threw it on the floor. The page had to be re-copied and it was only now that the symphony received the title "Sinfonia eroica."[2]

”

However, the road to titling of the work Eroica had further turns. After completing the work, Beethoven wrote to his publisher in the summer of 1804 that "The title of the symphony is reallyBonaparte." The final title was not applied to the work until the parts were published in October, 1806. In fact, Schindler tells us that upon hearing of the French Emperor's death in Saint Helena in 1821, Beethoven proclaimed "I wrote the music for this sad event seventeen years ago" - referring to the Funeral March (second movement).

Beethoven wrote most of the symphony in late 1803 and completed it in early 1804. The symphony was premiered privately in summer 1804 in his patron Prince Lobkowitz's castle Eisenberg (Jezeri) in Bohemia. The first public performance was given in Vienna's Theater an der Wien on April 7, 1805 with the composer conducting.

Beethoven is regarded as one of the pioneers of the Romantic era.

This is a very interesting example of harmonic breakthrough (or lunacy, for that respective time) [5:35 in first video]

Bar 1: f#-7 6

3: C 6/4

5 F7+ (or a6m with a strong emphasis on 6 -the f- from the horns and trumpets).

9 B9

11 B

Guinness Classical 1000: the top 1000 recordings of all time

quote:

"The Romantic symphony's rightful father, Promethean in its scope, revolutionary in its structure and

with an implied moreal subtext: Beethoven's first impulse was to name Napoleon Bonaparte as dedicatee,

but when Napoleon named himself Emperor - Beethoven destroyed the dedication.

The Eroica's ground-plan incorporates a mighty first movement (that plays for anything up to 20 minutes),

a noble Funeral March, an effervescent Scherzo and a colorful theme with variations.

Beethoven's Third Symphony exceeds the lenght of his Second by roughly half as much again.

Recommended: Cleveland Orchestra / George Szell / Sony Classical Analogue

With nearly 100 CD versions to choose from, the Eroica will not be pinned down (or indeed comprehensively

represented by) a single interpretation. Szell's performance is stronger, more precise, better played and

better balanced than most, but i'd be irresponsible not to mention Toscanini (especially his shattering 1939 RCA recording, mono),

Furtwängler (a mighty reading, but only as recorded live, preferably the 1952 version on Tahra)

or Klemperer (stoical and strong, especially in his 1955 EMI recording). All three are in mono. There are others, too (Nikolaus Harnoncourt [Teldec]

and Sir Colin Davis [Philips] offer the best digital versions),

but you won't go far wrong with our four basic recommendations."