Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Egmont Overture

There have been (and still are) moments in every art form that have somehow broken the accepted norms and created something revolutionary, pointing a clear path towards the future and serving as an influence to a number of other people that follow. In music one of the greatest innovators of all time must be Ludwig van Beethoven. Emerging in the late 18th century as a brilliant piano virtuoso and composer who was first seen as an heir to Mozart, but ...
...music that was more openly emotional, turbulent and less decorous than people were used to. However, Beethoven's promising career seemed almost to terminate before it had even begun as he started to loose his hearing, beginning in the early 1800s. This lead to a tremendous crisis in the composer's life and he seriously contemplated suicide, so emotionally expressed in the so-called "Heiligenstadt Testament" in 1802. But Beethoven lived ... more

There have been (and still are) moments in every art form that have somehow broken the accepted norms and created something revolutionary, pointing a clear path towards the future and serving as an influence to a number of other people that follow. In music one of the greatest innovators of all time must be Ludwig van Beethoven. Emerging in the late 18th century as a brilliant piano virtuoso and composer who was first seen as an heir to Mozart, but who soon showed his individual and highly original character, writing music that was more openly emotional, turbulent and less decorous than people were used to. However, Beethoven's promising career seemed almost to terminate before it had even begun as he started to loose his hearing, beginning in the early 1800s. This lead to a tremendous crisis in the composer's life and he seriously contemplated suicide, so emotionally expressed in the so-called "Heiligenstadt Testament" in 1802. But Beethoven lived on and, because of the isolation he felt due to his condition and his natural impulsiveness, he managed to evolve in a completely original way. His Second Symphony written at that time already shows his fiery temper in its early form.

As the First Symphony was still firmly rooted in the accepted Classical mold of Haydn, the Second caused wondering and even fear among the people that first heard it (one critic compared it to a dragon that refuses to die). With this in mind, one really can only wonder at what Beethoven's next symphony must have felt like for the audiences of the time (after all that kind of a sensation can hardly be expected of us today). Beethoven had for some time been interested in Napoleon, whom he saw as a great liberator of the people and who represented to Beethoven the very qualities he himself appreciated. Napoleon therefore served as one of the inspirations that led to the creation of the Third Symphony and it was to him that the symphony was originally dedicated to. According to Ferdinand Ries, Beethoven was enraged when he heard that Napoleon had crowned himself as Emperor. Beethoven declared how his idol proved to be nothing more than a mere mortal after all, who would become a tyrant and trample the rights of the people under him. In his fury he tore up the page with the dedication on it to shreads and instead dedicated it to Prince Lobkowitz. The other version of the story is that Beethoven furiously scraped over the dedication with a sharp knife, causing the paper to be damaged, and wrote on the first page the dedication "Sinfonia Eroica, to the memory of a great man," the title it has become known to us today. But it is also important to keep in perspective the influence of Napoleon in this work. Many have tried to see Napoleon in the programmatic sense, with the first being a "portrait" of him, the second an anticipation of his downfall or some other historic association with Napoleon, and the finale as his rise from corporal to general. This is of course utter folly. The symphony most probably represents Beethoven's own ideals and struggles with fate, his hero-worshipping and his own desires to evolve the symphonic design.

The symphony was mostly written in 1803 and was finished in the beginning of 1804. When we forget all the irrelevant programmatic ideas, we can focus on a work that is truly groundbreaking for its time. In 1803 a normal symphony was usually about 25 to 30 minutes long; the Eroica lasts almost an hour. This is one of the main reasons why the symphony initially failed to please the audience. During the first public performance on April 7, 1805 an audience member (according to Czerny) yelled out: "I'll give another kreutzer if the thing will only end!" This gives a good impression of the mentality people had at the time and when faced with such an enormous work, they didn't know what to make of it. The work had received its first semi-public performance at the home of the banker Würth a little time before, where the press was also invited to participate. On the occasion the symphony was thought as being made by a talented and vigorous composer, but the work as a whole was lost in inconsistencies. This is understandable, since the work does proffer much that is new. Beethoven's wanderings from E flat major into foreign tonalities from the very beginning already sets uneasiness to the symphony. The music also features many violent off-beats, strange harmonic twists, passages of such turbulance never heard before in orchestral music and other peculiarities that caused alienation with the people adjusted to thinking music as a pleasant pastime, not as a deeply personal utterance. As Brahms said: "Writing symphonies was no longer playful."

I. Allegro con brio

The symphony begins with two forceful E flat major chords (forte) that instantly set the tone of the music. The cellos then launch into the main theme, that in actuality is nothing more than an E flat chord tipped on its side and turned into a melody. Incidentally this theme bears incredible resemblance to the overture of Mozart's youthful singspiel Bastien et Bastienne. (This however must be a pure coincidence, since it is quite improbable that Beethoven would ever even have seen a small-time work such as this.) The music soon slips from E flat major to C sharp leading into a diminished-seventh chord, making it possible for the music to head towards many different destinations. Beethoven then hurriedly takes us back into E flat major, since this is still only the beginning of the work. The opening melody is expanded in full orchestra, soon leading to a more tender phrase that is passed from instrument to instrument creating a continuous melody. It's yearning is intensified by a short, dark interjection of the basses. Exploding off-beat accents soon disturb the flow of the music, which then turns towards B flat major with a hint of the main theme. The music gathers new energy, but is again interrupted by the off-beat accents, that finally disrupt the gait with a fierce sequence of sharply emphatic chords, separated by silences (only one of the peculiarities of the Eroica). According to sonata form there follows the exposition repeat, which unfortunately is often omitted. The inclusion of the repeat really emphasizes the monumental nature of the entire work and taking into consideration that the development is more than half the length of the exposition, the balance of the work would be further maintained if the repeat was observed.

The development begins in C minor, but is soon joined by more familiar subjects before moving into a more frenzied and furious, fugue-like episode. The music then evolves into a new theme in E minor, that is used as a passageway back into familiar directions. The main theme returns now in C major, almost getting out of control, but Beethoven restrains this from happening. The music gets more harmonised in the winds, moving in a rising progression, culminating on a C flat major triad. The music turns agonizingly slow as we approach the recapitulation, that is followed by the famous "wrong" horn note. As the violins tremble on B flat and A flat, a lone horn sounds the first notes of the main theme before the orchestra gives us two strong measures of the dominant seventh. The horn has therefore begun the recapitulation as the strings are still only preparing for it. During rehearsals, Beethoven's pupil Ferdinand Ries exclaimed: "You blasted hornplayer! Don't you know how to count? That sounded terrible!" Beethoven was left furious to Ries for a long time to come. The recapitulation doesn't present anything really significantly different from the exposition, except for the beginning that opens on a more subdued note. The coda on the other hand presents further structural importance. It opens in E flat major, but soon Beethoven shifts to the remote key of D flat major, again upsetting the "safe" passage of the music even at this late stage. From here the music leaps to C major (fortissimo), accompanied by a new rhythmic figure, and followed by gigantic strides that prepare for the return of the tonic. Finally the main theme comes back in full force, culminating in two sharp and forceful E flat chords as in the beginning of the movement.

II. Marcia funèbre. Adagio assai

The following movement is entitled "Marcia funèbre." The mood is the complete opposite of the first, while maintaining the same epic and heroic nature of the entire work. The movement is cast in C minor, beginning in strings (pianissimo and sotto voce), followed by the oboe, a perfect instrument to represent mourning. The first contrasting episode, in C major, begins quite gently, moving into the more heroic trumpets and drums climax, the clarification of the dead hero. As the main march music returns it is soon derailed into an intense fugue in F minor, rising to truly tragic proportions, and ending with five mighty blows, coming to rest on G minor. The violins attempt to start the march again, but falter, uncertain of where to go. The cellos and basses then take the violins high, isolated A flat in a fierce way, going where the violins couldn't. The march music then resumes in the restless atmosphere left by the preceding passage for its last full statement. There follows another climax, turning to D flat with a new lyric idea. This leads the music into the coda, which is the most shocking aspect of the entire movement. The march music seems to start again, but the line breaks apart, sobbing, stammering, disintegrating. The march music is only heard in fragments, slowly dying away amid telling pauses. The movement closes with a final despairing cry from the cellos and basses.

III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace

To write a scherzo after such a powerful and emotional movement could have failed utterly had it been written by somebody else. The scherzo begins in a decorous pianissimo, which it maintains until we have been transported back from the world of death. After breaking away from the hushed opening, the music is free to bubble along without a shadow in sight. But, since this is but an early schrzo it doesn't feature that raw energy that often characterizes Beethoven's scherzos, being more decorous and light-hearted. The Trio is more romantic, written for three horns, giving a warm feel to the music. This is the first instance that Beethoven composes an epilogue for the scherzo, instead of merely reprising the main material.

IV. Finale: Allegro molto

The Finale is the final innovation of the Eroica. Instead of a simple conclusion in the normal mould of a Classical symphony, Beethoven builds it to become a kind of crowning culmination of massive proportions. The movement begins with flourishing elemental turmoil, like a storm, in A flat major. This serves as a transition to set E flat major firmly as the base tonality of the movement. The movement is built as an extended series of variations in a rather free form, utilizing variation and fugue in its structure. The theme, however, is not a new one. Beethoven decided to turn on the Finale of his ballet music for Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, further emphasizing the cosmic hero consept. This theme was originally composed as a contredanse that he used in the ballet, which was followed in 1802 by the "15 variations and fugue on a theme from Prometheus for piano, Op.35."

The first variation begins pizzicato in all the strings. No.2 is presented by cellos and partly by violins against no.1, bowed, by the second violins. This is then played together with no.1, now back in the basses. After this the movement proper gets under way. There follows a short fugue subject in C minor in the first violins, with counterpoint from no.2. As this comes to a close, the music changes to D major for the third variation for bassoon, cellos, basses and two horns. This is soon dispelled as we arrive at No.4 in G minor, beginning very suddenly, like a more victorious version of the Funeral March. This in turn yields again to some more fugal variation. The end of this is actually in E flat, that is followed by No.3, now completely altered from its initial presentation. It has moved into a slow and stately Poco andante, with incredible nobility of character. This variation is like an apotheosis of the work, a climax of towering force. The music is then carefully dismantled, being almost an echo of the disintegration of the Funeral March. This is finally followed by the return of the elemental turmoil that bursts into a loud victory celebration and ending with two sharp chords, the closing of a book in a similar way as the first movement began.

RECORDINGS

There is a great number of recordings available of this work. The old, traditional approach is one of stately gravity and expansiveness that can, if not handled correctly, become incredibly tedious and unbearable. The newer approach, especially with period performances, usually favors more urgent and flowing speeds, bearing a closer relation with Beethoven's own metronome markings that are notoriously faster than what the tempo markings actually suggest. Personally I prefer a compromise of the two, with the speeds staying in the middle regions. I especially enjoy the Marcia funèbre to have a little expansiveness, instead of flowing forward like an Andante. Just feels better to me. But that's just me!

On the more historic side we have Otto Klemperer's three recordings. The first one dates from 1955, in mono, and is played by The Philharmonia Orchestra. This is a true classic with such intensity not captured in his later studio recording. Released as a part of EMI's Great Recordings of the Century, his 1957 recording with the Royal Danish Orchestra is a live performance and, despite some expected flaws of a live recording, is even more intense than the 1955 studio recording. The 1961 stereo recording, again with The Philharmonia lacks the energy of either of the mono recordings, and doesn't really generate much awe. There are also a few unpleasant mishaps in the playing.

Karl Böhm's 1960s recording with the Berlin Philharmonic (released as a part of DG's Originals) is very good for its date, but somewhat falls short on the excitement of Karajan's 1977 version with the same orchestra, which brings lyrical and powerful utterances, just what you would expect from a Karajan recording. Another very good version is by Neville Marriner with the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields, bringing committed playing with excellent sound. The only snag is that there is no filler. The version made by Walter Zinman with the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra also features excellently crisp and detailed sound, with speeds kept at a very flowing pace. The first movement, for instance, is barely 15 minutes long even with the exposition repeat observed.

For those wanting a period performance there are two very good versions available. The first is by John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. This version is very fast, observing the metronome markings very closely and generating a very good response from the orchestra. The earlier version made by Roger Norrington with the Stuttgart RSO is also a good alternative, but doesn't surpass the version by Gardiner either in sound or performance.

EPILOGUE

This symphony remained very dear to Beethoven. When he was asked in 1817 to name his favourite symphony, Beethoven responded the Eroica (however that was when the Ninth was still to be written). Out of all Beethoven's symphonies, only No.9 is longer that the Eroica, and none (except perhaps No.7) is more boisterously heroic and optimistically forceful in it's overall message. Beethoven would evolve further from the Eroica, of course, but the importance of the work cannot be underestimated. It really opened the doors for the more extended symphonies like Schubert's "Great C major" or the symphonies of the Romantics following Beethoven's death. A magnificent work that continues to amaze!

The symphony is scored for:
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 3 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

© berlioz
 

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