Beethoven was forced to hide in the basement of his brother’s house during the French bombardment of Vienna in May, 1809. As one music critic wrote: “Beethoven was doing for music what Napoleon was doing for society-turning tradition upside down.”īy 1809, Beethoven’s opinion of Napoleon again soured during Napoleon’s victory over Vienna. Due to its avant-garde nature, the 3 rd Symphony received mixed reviews at its premiere. The “Eroica” is a milestone of symphonic repertoire given its unprecedented length and strong emotional content. Given this history, it seems, at least in Beethoven’s mind, the “Eroica” may or may not have been dedicated to Napoleon. At that time, Beethoven wrote to his publisher: “The title of the symphony is really Bonaparte.” After several subsequent name changes and dedications, however, the 3 rd Symphony simply became known as the “Eroica” (Italian for “heroic”) in 1806. The page had to be re-copied and it was only now that the symphony received the title ‘Sinfonia Eroica.’”Īpparently, three months later, Beethoven had second thoughts. …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. 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. “At that time Beethoven had the highest esteem for him (Napoleon) and compared him to the greatest consuls of ancient Rome. One of Beethoven’s pupils, Ferdinand Ries, recalled Beethoven’s response: However, when Napoleon declared himself “Emperor of the French” in May 1804, Beethoven was enraged. Beethoven decided to dedicate his newly completed 3 rd Symphony to Napoleon. At first, Beethoven viewed Napoleon as the embodiment of the democratic ideals sweeping across Europe in the early 1800’s.
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