MASTERLY CREATIONS
6he inspirations behind five of Beethoven’s greatest works
1 A FALLEN HERO
Beethoven originally planned his Symphony No 3, Eroica – the first work of his nnew path’ s to be entitled Bonaparte. 1n hearing that Napoleon had declared himself emperor (as shown above), Beethoven scrubbed out the dedication so hard that he left a hole in the page.
2 THE ACT OF REVOLUTION
Fidelio, Beethoven’s sole opera, was inspired by true events in the (rench Revolution (shown left is the storming of the 6uileries 2alace). It was reset in Spain by its librettist, Joseph Sonnleithner, in an attempt to circumvent state censorship. 6he censors took so long to decide its fate that the opera’s 1805 premiere was postponed by the time it was allowed, Napoleon had invaded 8ienna and most of the likely audience had fled town. 6he opera did not reach its final form until 181 .
3 THE BATTLE CRY
Beethoven’s nBattle Symphony’ was created for a contraption called a npantechnicon’, which could imitate the sound of a full orchestra. But the instrument failed to achieve much, if any, popularity. Beethoven reset the piece for a real orchestra and, as Wellington’s Victory (in honour of the British commander, above), premiered it alongside his Symphony No in 1813, in a concert to raise money for the wounded of the battle of *anau.
4 THE PACE-SETTER
6he most ambitious of Beethoven’s 3 piano sonatas, the n*ammerklavier’ (the German word for a fortepiano) was completed in 181 after the British piano firm John Broadwood sent him the biggest, strongest instrument he had ever owned (shown below). Beethoven gives the first movement an exceptionally fast tempo indication 138 beats per minute.
5 THE ODE TO JOY
Schiller’s An die Freude (Ode to Joy), written in 1 85, was not merely the text for the last movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No , but a long standing obsession for the composer, although it was only in 18 that he finally set it to music. It encapsulated his own ideals to an impressive degree the longing for a world in which everyone, in Baccha nalian siblinghood, could love one another and sing for Loy. 2erhaps neither n'nlightenment’ nor nRoman tic’, it transcends both.