"Beethoven and Napoleon" Topic

"In April 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven left Vienna for Heiligenstadt, a village about five miles to the north. In the preceding weeks he had been deeply depressed by the realisation that he was going deaf; but there, surrounded by nature, he recovered his spirits and found a new sense of musical purpose. Wandering through the countryside, sketchbook in hand, he began toying with a theme in E flat major. Before long, he had the outlines of a completely new symphony – his third – clear in his mind. Though inspired by some of his earlier works, especially the so-called Eroica Variations (Op. 35), it was unlike anything he had written before. Vast in scope and strikingly original in style, it was bold, daring, even triumphalist…."
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Amicalement
Armand

The author significantly fails to mention that although Beethoven may have still privately considered the title of the symphony to be "Bonaparte" and may only have suppressed that title to avoid offending his aristocratic patrons (he always was a shrewd businessman), when it was published in 1806 it bore the dedication "per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grande Uomo" ("in celebration of the memory of a great man"), as though Bonaparte was already dead to him, long before the bombardment of Vienna in the 1809 campaign.

It's annoying when historians leave out prominent and well-known facts in the apparent pursuit of a particular agenda.

I would also question his contention that Wellington's Victory is somehow less "exciting" than the 3rd Symphony, parts of which (especially the finale, and the Eroica variations, based on the same thematic material) I find to be awkward and at times tedious, in spite of their much broader scope and developmental sophistication. (I have played both, as principal trumpet.)

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Thanks!

Amicalement
Armand

Jeff I'd forgotten that Ludwig van used "Marlbrough s'en va-t'en guerre" in "Wellington's Victory." Thank you for the reminder.

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