| Symphony No. 3 | |
|---|---|
| Sinfonia Eroica | |
| byLudwig van Beethoven | |
 Beethoven's title page which shows his erasure of dedication of the work toNapoleon | |
| Opus | 55 |
| Composed | 1802 (1802)–1804 |
| Dedication | Napoleon Bonaparte, later retracted upon Napoleon's crowning himselfEmperor |
| Performed | 7 April 1805 (1805-04-07): Vienna |
| Movements | Four |
TheSymphony No. 3 inE♭ major,Op. 55, titled as theEroica Symphony, is asymphony in four movements byLudwig van Beethoven.
One of Beethoven's most celebrated works, theEroica symphony is a large-scale composition that marked the beginning of the composer's innovative "middle period".[1][2]
Composed mainly in 1803–1804, the work broke boundaries in symphonic form, length, harmony, emotional and cultural content. It is widely considered a landmark in thetransition between theClassical and theRomantic era. It is also often considered to be the first Romantic symphony.[3][4] Beethoven first conducted a private performance on 9 June 1804, and later the first public performance on 7 April 1805.
Symphony No. 3 is scored for:
The work is in fourmovements:
Depending upon the conductor's style and observation of theexposition repeat in the first movement, the typical performance time is between 45 and 55 minutes.[citation needed]
The first movement, in3
4 time, is insonata form, with typical performances between 12 and 18 minutes long depending on interpretation and whether theexposition repeat is played.[citation needed] Unlike the longeradagio introductions in Beethoven's first two symphonies, the movement opens with two very loud E♭ major chords, played by the whole orchestra, that establish the tonality of the movement.
The conductorKenneth Woods has noted that the opening movement ofEroica was inspired by and modeled on Mozart'sSymphony No. 39, and shares many attributes of that earlier symphony which precedes this one by a decade and a half.[5]
Main theme of the first movement and its constituent motifs
The exposition has three thematic groups with varying interpretations of functionality.
The exposition begins with thecellos introducing the firsttheme. By the fifth bar of the melody (m. 7), achromatic note (C♯) is introduced, thus introducing the harmonic tension of the work. The melody is finished by the firstviolins, with asyncopated series of Gs (which forms atritone with C♯ of the cellos and a diminished chord). This resolves to the dominant of therelative minor (G/C minor) before a short cadential codetta in E♭ major. The first theme is then transferred to wind instruments, then fragmented, moving through other keys with theb motif in canon and interchanged with ahemiola in the dominant, later moving between dominant and tonic. The main theme is finally restated with full orchestra ina andb before modulating to F major and the dominant B♭ in group 2.
Themodulation to thedominant key ofB♭ appears at mm. 42–44, although it is not yet fully stabilized and entrenched.[6]: 140 Here follows a group of three or two subjects: a lyrical downwardmotif (mm. 45–56) in canon between oboe, clarinet, flute, and violin; a short upwardscale motif (mm. 57–64) in strings with a variation; and a section beginning with rapid downward patterns in the violins (mm. 65–82).[a]
The third theme of the second group eventually leads to a lyrical theme (m. 83), whose second half of the theme eventually builds to a loud melody (m. 109) that draws upon the earlier downward motif (m. 113). The climactic moment of the exposition arrives when the music is interrupted by six consecutivesforzando hemiola chords (mm. 128–131). Later, and following the concluding chords of the exposition (mm. 144–148), the main theme returns in a briefcodetta (m. 148) that transitions into the repeat / development.
The status of these groups is debated as to which is more important in the structure. In the traditional analysis, the three early motifs aretransitionalsubjects to arrive at the "unusually late" lyrical theme.[8]: 61 An alternative analysis holds that the second theme begins earlier at m. 45 with the downward motif. In this view, the traditional harmonic progression of the exposition ends at m. 82, with the new lyrical theme at m. 83 beginning an extension. This pattern would be consistent with that found later in the development, in which the climactic moment leads to a new lyrical theme that launches an extended section. Moreover, the downward motif theme (m. 45) is developed significantly in the next section while the lyrical theme (m. 83) does not appear.[9]: 97 The early modulation to B♭ had been present in early drafts of the symphony, as was the indecisive nature of the second group.[10]
Commenters have also observed that the sonata form and orchestration transitions would be fully preserved by cutting the third group (m. 83–143).[6]: 140 However, others have observed that form and orchestration would also be fully preserved if the second and third subjects of the second group were cut instead (mm. 57–82),[7] consistent with the traditional analysis.
Thedevelopment section (m. 154),[b] like the rest of the movement, is characterized by harmonic and rhythmic tension fromdissonant chords and long passages of syncopated rhythm.
The first section of the development is based around various thematic explorations andcounterpoint, including a new scalar figure in bars 165-173 and a fugato derived from the main theme of the second group (mm. 236-246). The music eventually breaks into a 32-bar passage (mm. 248–279) of sforzando chords including both 2-beat and 3-beat downward patterns, culminating in crashing dissonantforte chords (mm. 276–279). Commenters have stated that this "outburst of rage ... forms the kernel of the whole movement", and Beethoven reportedly got out in his beat when conducting the orchestra in Christmas 1804, forcing the confused players to stop and go back.[8]: 64 & footnote
Rather than leading to therecapitulation at this point, a new theme inE minor is then introduced instead (m. 284), beginning the second section of the development. This eventually leads to a near-doubling of the development's length, in like proportion to the exposition.[6]: 140
At the end of the development, one horn famously appears to come in early with the main theme in E♭ (mm. 394–395), while the strings continue playing thedominant chord. In the 19th century, this was thought to be a mistake; some conductors assumed the horn notes were written in the tenor clef (B♭–D–B♭–F) while others altered the second violin harmony to G (chord of the tonic), an error that eventually appeared in an early printed version.[8]: 66 & footnote However, Beethoven's secretary,Ferdinand Ries, shared this anecdote about that horn entrance:
The first rehearsal of the symphony was terrible, but the hornist did, in fact, come in on cue. I was standing next to Beethoven and, believing that he had made a wrong entrance, I said, "That damned hornist! Can't he count? It sounds frightfully wrong." I believe I was in danger of getting my ears boxed. Beethoven did not forgive me for a long time.[11]
Therecapitulation starts in the tonic E♭ major as expected, but then features a sudden excursion toF major early on[6]: 141 before eventually returning to a more typical form in the tonic. The movement concludes in a longcoda that reintroduces the new theme first presented in the development section.
The second movement is afuneral march in theternary form (A–B–A) that is typical of 18th-century funeral marches,[12]: 1071 albeit one that is "large and amply developed" and in which the principal theme has the functions of arefrain as inrondo form.[13]: 70 However, it can also be analyzed as having five parts, a combination of ternary, rondo, and sonata form:[10]
Musically, the thematic solemnity of the second movement has lent itself for use as a funeral march, proper. The movement is between 14 and 18 minutes long.
The opening A-section in C minor begins with the march theme in the strings, then in the winds. A second theme (m. 17) in therelative major(E♭) quickly returns to minor tonality, and these materials are developed throughout the rest of the section.[8]: 72 This eventually gives way to a brief B-section inC major (m. 69) "for what may be called the Trio of the March",[8]: 72 which Beethoven unusually calls attention to by marking "Maggiore" (major) in the score.
At this point, the traditional "bounds of ceremonial propriety" would normally indicate ada capo return to the A theme.[9]: 106 However, the first theme in C minor (m. 105) begins modulating in the sixth bar (m. 110), leading to afugue inF minor (m. 114) based on aninversion of the original second theme. The first theme reappears briefly inG minor in the strings (m. 154), followed by a stormy development passage ("a shocking fortissimo plunge").[13]: 70 [12]: 1072 A full re-statement of the first theme in the original key then begins in the oboe (m. 173).
The coda (m. 209) begins with a marching motif in the strings that was earlier heard in the major section (at mm. 78, 100)[8]: 72 and eventually ends with a final soft statement of the main theme (m. 238) that "crumbles into short phrases interspersed with silences".[13]: 70
The third movement is a livelyscherzo withtrio in rapid3
4 time. It is between 5 and 6 minutes long.[14]
The A theme of the outer scherzo section appearspianissimo in thedominant key of B♭ (mm. 7, 21), thenpiano in the secondary dominant key of F which is when the B part of the outer scherzo is heard (m. 41). This is followed by a pianissimo restart in B♭ (m. 73), which is when the A theme is heard again, leading to a fullfortissimo statement in the tonic key of E♭ (m. 93). Later, a downwardarpeggio motif withsforzandos on the second beat is played twice inunison, first by the strings (mm. 115–119) and then by the full orchestra (mm. 123–127). This is followed by asyncopated motif characterized by descending fourths (m. 143), leading to the repeat.
The trio section features three horns, the first time this had appeared in the symphonic tradition.[13]: 71 The scherzo is then repeated in shortened form,[8]: 78 except that very notably the second occurrence of the downward unison motif is changed toduple time (mm. 381–384).[b] The movement ends with a coda (m. 423), with Beethoven marking the word in the score – which was unusual for him – that quickly builds from pianissimo to fortissimo, encapsulating the pattern of the whole movement.[13]: 70
The fourth movement is a set ofvariations on a theme. It lasts between 10 and 14 minutes.[citation needed] The theme was previously used by Beethoven in earlier compositions and arguably forms the basis for the first three movements of the symphony as well (see Thematic Origins below), and the movement can be roughly divided into four parts:
While writing, Beethoven found himself having to reconcile the succession of the variations form with the processional sonata form found in the first movement. Thus, the final movement can be analyzed as adouble variation form, with two themes (the bass theme and melody theme) being varied alternately with each other.[15][10] Fabrizio Della Seta lays out the themes as such in the table:
| Introduction | Theme | Var. I | Var. II | Var. III | Var. IV | Var. V | Var. VI | Coda |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass Theme (BT) | Melody Theme (MT) + BT | BT (fugato) | MT | "March" theme over BT | MT + BT | Fugue on BT | MT | MT |
The following table recounts multiple interpretations of the variations, although this list is not exhaustive:
| Episode | Key | Measure | Fabrizio Della Seta[10] | Elaine R. Sisman[15] | Luigi Della Croce[16] | Paolo Troncon[17] | Marco Gozzi[18] | Jordan Randall Smith[19] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass theme | E♭ major | 12–43 | Bass theme | Theme A | Ostinato theme | Theme X | Theme | |
| Variation a 3 | 44–59 | Elaboration on bass theme | Variation A1 | Variation I | Variation (with countersubject) | First variation of Theme X | Variation I | |
| Variation a 4 | 60–75 | Elaboration on bass theme | Variation A2 | Variation II | Variation (with counterpoint) | Second variation of Theme X | Variation II | |
| Melody theme | 76–116 | Melody theme | Theme B | Variation III | Variation (ostinato + foundational theme) | Theme A | Variation III | |
| Fugato on bass theme | C minor | 117–174 | Variation I | Variation Ax | Variation IV | Fugue with 5 voices | Fugato on Theme X | Variation IV |
| Melody theme | D major | 175–210 | Variation II | Variation B1 | First and second variations on Theme A | Variation V | ||
| March theme | G minor | 211–257 | Variation III | Variation A3 | New theme on oboes and bassoons | New variation on themes A-X | Variation VI | |
| Melody theme | C major C minor | 258–276 | Variation IV | Variation B2 | Fourth variation of Theme A | Variation VII | ||
| Double fugue | E♭ major | 277–348 | Variation V | Variation Ax1 | Fugue with 5 voices (inverted ostinato theme) | Fugal episode | ||
| "Poco andante" | 349–380 | Variation VI | Variation B3 | Final variation (with new theme) | Theme (varied) | Fifth variation of Theme A | Variation VIII | |
| Melody theme | 381–396 | Reprise | Variation B4 | Reprise | Sixth variation of Theme A | Variation IX |
After a short introduction on thetutti that begins with themediant chord that transitions to thedominant seventh, the quiet theme, inE-flat major, first appears and then is subjected to a series of ten variations:
The symphony ends with a coda, which takes image on all previous sections and variations of the movement. At the end of the coda, there is a "surprise", which is when the dynamic changes frompp on the flute, bassoon, and strings only toff all of a sudden by a huge crash on the whole orchestra, as the tempo abruptly changes toPresto. A flurry of sforzandos appear, and the finale ends triumphantly with three large E-flat major chords on the tutti.
Beethoven began composing the third symphony soon afterSymphony No. 2 in D major, Opus 36 and completed the composition in early 1804. The first public performance of Symphony No. 3 was on 7 April 1805 in Vienna.[20]
There is significant evidence that theEroica, perhaps unlike Beethoven's other symphonies, was constructed back-to-front.[13]: 75 The theme used in the fourth movement, including itsbass line, originate from the seventh of Beethoven's 12 Contredanses for Orchestra, WoO 14,[21] and also from the Finale to his balletThe Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43, both of which were composed in the winter of 1800–1801.[13]: 58 The next year, Beethoven used the same theme as the basis for hisVariations and Fugue for Piano in E♭ Major, Op. 35, now commonly known as theEroica Variations due to the theme's re-use in the symphony. It is the only theme that Beethoven used for so many separate works in his lifetime, and each use is in the same key of E♭ major.[13]: 58
The "Wielhorsky Sketchbook", Beethoven's principal sketchbook for 1802, contains a two-page movement plan in E♭ major that directly follows the sketches for the Opus 35 Variations, which has been identified as being intended for the Third Symphony.[22][13]: 59 [c] While the movement plan gives no explicit indication regarding the finale,Lewis Lockwood argues that "there cannot be any doubt that Beethoven intended from the start" to use the same theme (and bass of the theme) that he had just fleshed out in the Opus 35 Variations. Thus, it is argued that Beethoven's initial conception for a complete symphony in E♭ – including its first three movements – emerged directly from the Op. 35 Variations.[13]: 60
The first movement's main theme (mm. 3–6) has thus been traced back to the bass line theme of the Opus 35 variations (E♭, B♭↓, B♭↑, E♭) by way of intermediate versions found in one of Beethoven's sketchbooks.[22][13]: 60–61 In the second movement, the combined tonality (melody and bass) of the Opus 35 theme's first four bars – E♭, B♭↓, B♭7(A♭)↑, E♭ – appears in slightly altered form as the funeral's march's second theme (E♭, B♭↓, A♭↑, E♮) (mvt. II, mm. 17–20), followed by two sudden forte B♭s that echo later elements of the theme. That same tonality then appears unaltered as the scherzo's main theme (mvt. III, mm. 93–100).[citation needed]
Thus, the first three movements can be viewed as symphonic-length "variations" on the Opus 35 theme, ultimately anticipating the theme's appearance in the fourth movement. Moreover, Beethoven's choice to begin the symphony with a theme adapted from the bass line is also paralleled in the fourth movement, in which the bass theme is heard as the first variation before the main theme ultimately appears.[citation needed] This again parallels the structure of the Opus 35 variations themselves. Finally, the loud E♭ chord that begins the Opus 35 variations themselves is moved here to the beginning of the first movement, in the form of the two chords that introduce the first movement.
Alternatively, the first movement's resemblance to the overture to the comic operaBastien und Bastienne (1768), composed by twelve-year-oldW. A. Mozart, has been noted.[8]: 59–60 [23] It was unlikely that Beethoven knew of that unpublished composition. A possible explanation is that Mozart and Beethoven each coincidentally heard and learned the theme from elsewhere.[24]
Beethoven originally dedicated the third symphony toNapoleon Bonaparte, who he believed embodied the democratic and anti-monarchical ideals of theFrench Revolution. In the autumn of 1804, Beethoven withdrew his dedication of the third symphony to Napoleon, lest it cost him the composer's fee paid him by a noble patron; so, Beethoven re-dedicated his third symphony toPrince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz – nonetheless, despite such a bread-and-butter consideration, the politically idealistic Beethoven titled the work "Bonaparte".[25] Later, about the composer's response to Napoleon having proclaimed himselfEmperor of the French (14 May 1804), Beethoven's secretary, Ferdinand Ries said that:
In writing this symphony, Beethoven had been thinking of Bonaparte, but Bonaparte while he wasFirst Consul. At that time Beethoven had the highest esteem for him, and compared him to the greatest consuls ofAncient Rome. Not only I, but many of Beethoven's closer friends, saw this symphony on his table, beautifully copied in manuscript, with the word "Bonaparte" 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 Bonaparte 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 recopied, and it was only now that the symphony received the titleSinfonia eroica.[26]
An extant copy of the score bears two scratched-out, hand-written subtitles; initially, the Italian phraseIntitolata Bonaparte ("Titled Bonaparte"), secondly, the German phraseGeschriben auf Bonaparte ("Written for Bonaparte"), four lines below the Italian subtitle. Three months after retracting his initial Napoleonic dedication of the symphony, Beethoven informed his music publisher that "The title of the symphony is reallyBonaparte". In 1806, the score was published under the Italian titleSinfonia Eroica ... composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grande Uomo ("Heroic Symphony, Composed to celebrate the memory of a great man").[27]
Composed from the autumn of 1803 until the spring of 1804, the earliest rehearsals and performances of the third symphony were private, and took place in theVienna palace of Beethoven's noble patron,Prince Lobkowitz. An account record dated 9 June 1804, submitted by the prince'sKapellmeisterAnton Wranitzky, shows that the prince hired twenty-two extra musicians (including the third horn required for theEroica) for two rehearsals of the work.[28] The fee paid to Beethoven by Prince Lobkowitz would also have secured further private performances of the symphony that summer on his Bohemian estates, Eisenberg (Jezeří) and Raudnitz (Roudnice). The first public performance was on 7 April 1805, at theTheater an der Wien,Vienna; for which concert the announced (theoretical) key for the symphony wasDis (D♯ major, 9sharps).[29]
Reviews of the work's public premiere (on 7 April 1805) were decidedly mixed. The concert also included the premiere of aSymphony in E-flat major byAnton Eberl (1765–1807) that received better reviews than Beethoven's symphony.[29][30] One correspondent describes the first reactions to theEroica:
Musical connoisseurs and amateurs were divided into several parties. One group, Beethoven's very special friends, maintains that precisely this symphony is a masterpiece.... The other group utterly denies this work any artistic value ... [t]hrough strange modulations and violent transitions ... with abundant scratchings in the bass, with three horns and so forth, a true if not desirable originality can indeed be gained without much effort. ...The third, very small group stands in the middle; they admit that the symphony contains many beautiful qualities, but admit that the context often seems completely disjointed, and that the endless duration ... exhausts even connoisseurs, becoming unbearable to the mere amateur. To the public the symphony was too difficult, too long ... Beethoven, on the other hand, did not find the applause to be sufficiently outstanding.[31]
One reviewer at the premiere wrote that "this new work of B. has great and daring ideas, and ... great power in the way it is worked out; but the symphony would improve immeasurably if B. could bring himself to shorten it, and to bring more light, clarity, and unity to the whole."[32] Another said that the symphony was "for the most part so shrill and complicated that only those who worship the failings and merits of this composer with equal fire, which at times borders on the ridiculous, could find pleasure in it".[33] But a reviewer just two years later described theEroica simply as "the greatest, most original, most artistic and, at the same time, most interesting of all symphonies".[34]
The finale in particular came in for criticism that it did not live up to the promise of the earlier movements. An early reviewer found that "[t]he finale has much value, which I am far from denying it; however, it cannot very well escape from the charge of great bizarrerie."[35] Another agreed that "[t]he finale pleased less, and that "the artist often wanted only to play games with the audience without taking its enjoyment into account simply in order to unloose a strange mood and, at the same time, to let his originality sparkle thereby".[36] An exhaustive review of the work in a leading music journal made an observation that may still be familiar to first-time listeners: "this finale is long, very long; contrived, very contrived; indeed, several of [its] merits lie somewhat hidden. They presuppose a great deal if they are to be discovered and enjoyed, as they must be, in the very moment of their appearance, and not for the first time on paper afterwards."[37] A review of an 1827 performance in London wrote that this particular performance "most properly ended with the funeral march, omitting the other parts, which are entirely inconsistent with the avowed design of the composition".[38]
The original autograph manuscript does not survive. A copy of the score with Beethoven's handwritten notes and remarks, including the famous scratched-out dedication to Napoleon on the cover page, is housed in the library of theGesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. A first published edition (1806) of Beethoven'sEroica is on display at theLobkowicz Palace in Prague.[39]
Several modern scholarly editions have appeared in recent decades, including those edited byJonathan Del Mar (published byBärenreiter), Peter Hauschild (Breitkopf & Härtel), and Bathia Churgin (Henle).
The work is a milestone work in classical music; it is twice as long as the symphonies ofJoseph Haydn andWolfgang Amadeus Mozart – the first movement is almost as long as aClassical symphony (with repetition of the exposition). Thematically, it covers more emotional ground than Beethoven's earlier symphonies, and thus marks a key milestone in the transition between Classicism andRomanticism that would define Western art music in the early decades of the nineteenth century.[citation needed]
The second movement especially displays a great emotional range, from the misery of the funeral march theme, to the relative solace of happier, major-key episodes. The finale displays a similar emotional range, and is given a thematic importance then unheard of. In earlier symphonies, the finale was a quick and breezy conclusion; here, the finale is a lengthy set of variations and a fugue.[40]
The symphony's second movement has been played as afuneral march at statefunerals, memorial services, and commemorations including:
Eroica, a film based in part on Ferdinand Ries' recollection of the symphony's 1804 premiere, was released in 2003.[53]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
![\new Staff
\relative c{
\clef bass
\key ees \major
\time 3/4
\tempo "Allegro con brio" \tempo 2 = 80
\[^"a" ees2 g4 ees2 bes4 \] \[^"b" ees4 g bes \] \[^"c" ees,2 d4 cis2.~\] cis \bar ""
}](/image.pl?url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fscore%2f4%2f4%2f44olcetxraat6m91m4q2xa4bvgjohtf%2f44olcetx.png&f=jpg&w=240)
