Ludwig Van Beethovens Symphony No 3 - Essay Example

? Music There is another given to Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major(Op. 55 which is Eroica. Eroic means ‘heroic’ in Italian. This work of Beethoven has a great significance in the music history as it marks a very heavy introduction of composer’s middle period. This much creativity in the musical history was never witnessed before. The work done under this era had great emotional and structural significance. This symphony is an excellent example of a classical piece introduced in the later half of the eighteenth century. It also includes elements of romance to be continued in the nineteenth century. First performance based on this symphony was on 7th April 1805. The instruments used in composing the symphony include flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani and strings. The structure of the symphony is as follows: 1. Allegro con brio 2. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai in C minor 3. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 4. Finale: Allegro molto Actually Beethoven composed this symphony for Napoleon Bonaparte and planned to dedicate the symphony to him only. This was because as a person, Beethoven was deeply inspired by the people who led the French Revolution and Napoleon was one significant and respectable person of that era. This reflected some great respect and admiration that Beethoven had for Napoleon in his heart. Considering his financial situation at that time, he could have also dedicated this symphony to Prince Franz Joseph and received a great monetary reward for it. But he did not turn away from his initial decision and dedicated it to Napoleon only. All these insights about Beethoven were given forward by Maynard Solomon. But in May 1804, when Bonaparte declared himself to be the ‘emperor of the French’, Beethoven got very disheartened and disgusted at this declaration. He went to great extents to display his ferocity and hatred for Napoleon. He went to the table where his symphony laid, and then he grabbed it and tore the first page on which the title of the symphony was written. He tore it into pieces brimming with anger. The title of this symphony was Bonaparte. This incident has been narrated by Ries in a very interesting manner: 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.” (Beethoven and Hamburger 29-30) The real version of the symphony however has been preserved through a person who copied the original symphony. In 1821, when Bonaparte died, Beethoven said that he had written the symphony for this sad day seventeen years ago. He said it on Bonaparte’s funeral. The symphony was thus written for signifying the heroism of the great emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. It is because of this background information that this symphony of Beethoven is said to have a strong emotional value. A major chunk of this symphony was written in the later half of 1803 and was completed in early 1804. It was first time performed in front of the public in Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 7 April 1805 by Beethoven himself. For this performance, the work's key was announced as "Dis", the German for D-sharp. There are many reasons why this symphony is so outstanding. The first reason is that this symphony is very long; it is almost twice as long as other normal symphonies composed by Haydn or Mozart. It also has an emotional background attached to it, plus it marks the beginning of romantic music. Later, the symphony takes on a quite happier tone. And the finale is long and gradual. In other symphonies, the finale is comparatively short, fickle and not so effective. Thus, this symphony is so effective because of its proper time management. Eroica is also known to many as Beethoven’s masterpiece (Sipe 54). Generally people loved the symphony. However there are many people who have quite a different view. They believe that while composing the symphony Beethoven was just desperately trying to be original but he remained unsuccessful in his attempt. Another symphony which was composed in E flat major by Anton Eberl was premiered in the same concert as Beethoven’s symphony but the former received a greater appreciation. Many critics argue that the first movement was just an attempt by Beethoven to hide his deafness, the second was because of the hopelessness he felt and in the third movement he was just using energy for no good reason. A lot of writers who pursued the Marxist view also argued that Beethoven’s symphonies demonstrated exactly the same sentiments for music that Napoleon demonstrated for the society and their focal point was the same, i.e. freedom. This was what French revolution was all based upon. There were problems related to the horn while rehearsing the symphony and Beethoven didn’t like this mistake on the hornist’s part. The second movement of the symphony is more often played on funerals. It has also been done to remember the deaths of many presidents. In 1972 it was played during Olympics also. Eroica has also been played on television. Recently in 2003 on BBC The Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner performed the Eroica symphony. It was a film based on Beethoven and all the background related to this symphony has been nicely depicted in the film. It has also been shown that Beethoven did not tear up the title page of this symphony but he just crumpled it up. It has also been played as background music in a biological film, Immortal Beloved. In my opinion, the Symphony is very interesting with respect to its beats and the sudden changes in the frequency of sounds. It is cheerful and has an element of mystery and suspense in it. It would very well fit in as background music in a horror or suspense scene. Works Cited Beethoven, Ludwig van and Michael Hamburger. Letters, journals, and conversations. Greenwood Press, 1978. Sipe, Thomas. Beethoven, Eroica symphony. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Read More