Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica", Coriolan Overture - Orchester Der Beethovenhalle Bonn, Dennis Russell Davies

BEETHOVEN Eroica liner notes

He will sell the symphony to you for 100 Gulden. It is in his estimation the greatest work he has written until now. Beethoven played it for me recently, and I believe that heaven and earth must have trembled at this performance. He wants very much to dedicate it to Bonaparte; if not, since Lobkowitz wants it for half a year and is willing to give 400 Gulden for it, he will title it Bonaparte .... " These words, from a letter written by Beethoven's pupil Ferdinand Ries to the music publisher Simrock on October 22, 1803, give the first detailed reference to one of the greatest of all symphonies. Early rehearsals took place in the Lobkowitz palace in Vienna in late May or early June 1804. The first public performance occurred in Vienna on April 7, 1805. According to Ries, the news that Napoleon had declared himself emperor so enraged Beethoven that he tore up the title page with Napoleon's name. In the end, the symphony was published with the title Sinfonia Eroica and bore the inscription, "Composed to celebrate the memory of a great man." The large dimensions of the symphony were unprecedented. In fact, the first edition included a statement suggesting that the symphony be placed near the beginning of a concert because of its unusual length. The orchestral scoring, however, was standard except for the addition of a third horn, though Wagner and others reorchestrated certain passages for greater power (as in the coda of movement I, where the final presentation of the heroic theme is given to the trumpets in the high register, which occurs in this performance). The symphony represents Beethoven's middle period in its expanded size, highly varied instrumentation, continuity, and intensity of development and expression, as well as many unique structural features. A remarkably detailed marking of dynamics and other performance indications profoundly influences the structure and performance of the music.