- Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55) by
Ludwig van Beethoven (known as the "" which is Italian for "heroic") is a musical work sometimes cited as marking the end of the Classical Era and the beginning ofmusic al Romanticism.Instrumentation
The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2
oboe s, 2clarinet s in B flat, 2bassoon s, 3 horns in E flat and C, 2trumpet s in E flat and C,timpani and strings.tructure
The piece is in four movements:
#"Allegro con brio"
#"Marcia funebre: Adagio assai"
#"Scherzo: Allegro vivace"
#"Finale: Allegro molto"Performances run between 40 and 60 minutes, but typically around 50.fact|date=February 2008
In the first movement, Beethoven indicates that the exposition is to be repeated. This repeat, generally omitted in performances before the late 1950s, has often been observed in recent years.
Overview
Dedication and premiere
Beethoven had originally conceived of dedicating the symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte. The biographer
Maynard Solomon relates that Beethoven admired the ideals of theFrench 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 toPrince Franz Joseph Maximillian Lobkowiz . 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. [Steinberg, 12.] 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 assistantFerdinand Ries tells the story in his biography of Beethoven: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 really "Bonaparte"." 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 castleEisenberg (Jezeri) in Bohemia. The first public performance was given inVienna 'sTheater an der Wien onApril 7 1805 with the composer conducting."'Critical reception
The work is a milestone in the history of the classical symphony for a number of reasons. The piece is about twice as long as symphonies by
Haydn orMozart — the first movement alone is almost as long as many Classical symphonies. The work covers more emotional ground than earlier works had, and is often cited as the beginning of the Romantic period in music.Fact|date=February 2007 The second movement, in particular, displays a great range of emotion, from the misery of the mainfuneral march theme, to the relative solace of happier, major key episodes. The finale of the symphony shows a similar range, and is given an importance in the overall scheme which was virtually unheard of previouslyFact|date=February 2007 — whereas in earlier symphonies, the finale was a quick and breezy finishing off, here it is a lengthy set of variations andfugue on a theme Beethoven had originally written for his ballet music "The Creatures of Prometheus".
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