Beethoven Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"

Ludwig Van Beethoven conducts his own "Eroica"

This day, April 7, 1805, Beethoven conducts in Vienna, Austria, the first public performance of his Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major (Op. 55), famously known as Eroica symphony.  He began composing the third symphony soon ater his second symphony in D major, completing the actual work in early 1804. 

"Eroica" is an Italian term meaning "heroic." It is a  landmark musical work that marks the advent of Beethoven's series of unprecedented large scale works of intense emotion and structural strength, referred to as "middle-period."

Symphony n°3 op.55 "Eroica" Movements:

I. Allegro con brio (0:00)
II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai  (15:32)
III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace  (32:51)
IV. Finale. Allegro molto  (39:22)

Beethoven's Symphony No.3 is often regarded as a mature expression of the late 18th century classical style that displays defining features of the romantic style in the 19th century following the classical period, the era of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn.




Video Credit:

Beethoven Symphony No.3 "Eroika",  YouTube, Berliner Philharmoniker. Accessed 7 April 2012.

If interested, here's another performance:  Beethoven Symphony No. 3 " - "Eroica" - Vienna Furtwaengler 1944.  Wiener Philharmoniker.  Wilhelm Furtwängler. Live recording, Vienna, 19.XII.1944. Youtube, uploaded by incontrario motu.  Accessed 11 April 2016.



Resources:

Kennedy, Michael, (Ed). The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Revised Edition.  Oxford: OUP, 1994.
Sadie, Stanley, (Ed). The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music.  London: Macmillan, 1994.

Note:  This post was originally published in my previous classical music website at wordpress.com, April 7, 2012.