Music and Vinyl: Beethoven - Symphony No.3 "Eroica"

Ludwig van Beethoven

Completed in 1804 and first performed, in Vienna, the following year, Beethoven's Third Symphony was originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte. But outraged at Napoleon's declaration of himself as Emperor, and the betrayal of democracy and the French Revolution, Beethoven scrubbed out Napoleon's name on the title page. The symphony was re-dedicated to his patron Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz, and published in 1806 with the Italian title "Sinfonia Eroica - composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grande Uomo " (which translates as "Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man").

Generally considered to be the major work bridging the Classical and Romantic styles, the Eroica was voted the greatest symphony of all time by a survey of 151 conductors in 2016. Of the many resources available for researching this music, this page from the "Wayback Machine" gives extracts from various books, and this page from liveabout.com has informative historical notes. Plus there is always the sleeve note scan from this record (below).

The recording here is Otto Klemperer's 1955 recording with the Philharmonia. Other recordings by Klemperer to feature on this blog can be found here.