Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, ``Eroica''

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, ``Eroica''
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, ``Eroica''
Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Symphony No.3 in E flat, Op.55, ``Eroica''. In 1798, General Bernadotte, the French ambassador to Austria, suggested to Beethoven that he might write a symphony in honor of Napoleon. Although today we think of Napoleon as a conqueror, he had begun his career as an advocate of French freedom and had already built a reputation as a great leader, so it is unsurprising that Beethoven agreed. The idea of the symphony languished until the summer of 1803, but work then proceeded rapidly.

In the spring of 1804, Beethoven's friend Ferdinand Ries saw a copy of the score with the title page labeled ``Bonaparte'' at the top (and, interestingly, ``Luigi'' van Beethoven at the bottom). But on May 18^th, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, and upon hearing the news Beethoven tore the title page in half, screaming that Napoleon would ``become a greater tyrant than anyone!''-prophetic words indeed. When the symphony was finally published, it was listed as a ``Heroic symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.''

Besides the famous story of its rededication, however, the ``Eroica'' is important because it was Beethoven's first truly Romantic composition. Although his earlier works had shown flashes of what was to come, they followed the model of Mozart and Haydn. The Third Symphony, by contrast, opens with two staggering chords that announce to the world the arrival of a new talent, a forceful personality, a man never to be forgotten-and the remainder of the piece never fails to live up to that promise.

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