Beethoven 3rd Symphony (4/5); 2nd-4th movements; Bernstein

Ludwig van Beethoven
Leonard Bernstein
New York Philharmonic

In his late twenties, Beethoven started to hear buzzing and ringing sounds in his ears. A few years later in 1802, he wrote a distressed letter in a town near Vienna that was addressed to his brothers (yet it remained in his own possession until his death at age 57). The note discussed Beethoven's deteriorating hearing (he eventually went deaf), how it made him feel lonely and anxious around others, and it laid out a will such that his siblings would inherit his wealth when he died.

However, he also wrote in it, "I would have ended my life—it was only my art that held me back." Historians later dubbed this letter, the Heiligenstadt Testament, after the town in which it was written.

This triumph over personal adversity happened concurrently with a significant change in Beethoven's musical style. The works composed after his emotional breakdown in 1802 radiated a new boldness and intrepidity, which often broke the formal rules of the Classical era in music. In fact, the first musical ideas for his Third Symphony—which was completed in 1804—were jotted down merely a few weeks after the Heiligenstadt Testament. Putting these ideas into perspective, it is no wonder why Beethoven's Third Symphony is sometimes deemed a nexus between the Classical and Romantic musical periods.

The Third Symphony's nickname is Eroica, which is Italian for "heroic." Originally, Beethoven planned to call the work, Bonaparte, after Napoleon Bonaparte. But once he learned that Napoleon proclaimed himself the emperor of France, he crossed out the dedication and wrote on the title page, "Heroic Symphony composed to celebrate the memory of a great man."

There are a lot of syncopations (stresses at unexpected times) and dissonances (unstable tone combinations), and wider pitch (highness or lowness of sounds) ranges and dynamics (loudness or softness in sounds) and heavier uses of accents (emphases on notes), to name a few deviations from the Classical era's typical way of writing a symphony.

***The 3rd movement begins at 2:14***
***The 4th movement begins at 8:18***

• Category

  Music

[shoopi1234]

8:18 where the "real" fun begins

[Joshua Lipson]

2:15 where the fun begins

[musicyarte]

Wonderful music Beethoven.

[Baroque Hearted]

since we are surrounded and watched 'by heavenly witnesses,according to Hebrews,with Beethoven and other composers amongst them,would he,with his hearing restored and seeing and hearing the infusion of music genres crowding out classical over the years,i wonder if he would ask an angel for a pair of earplugs?at being aghast of current music styles?who would argue here?TeleBachHand

[Lucas Whitaker]

Surely the dislikes were sarcasm..

[Domenico D'Ambrosio]

Beethoven was an incredible composer, in my opinion. Each time I listen to his masterpieces, I find something of magic, everytime. I love a lot of classical music, such as Verdi, Mozart, Wagner, Bellini, Berlioz, Schumann and so on... and I can't say which of them I love the most, but Beethoven has something special that unites passion and optimism for the human progress.

[Trevor Cox]

My neighbors would dislike this when i blasted this at full volume at 2am :P

[redbike26]

Who would dislike this?

[Wh Neo]

The sad thing is though he was a well-known 'Pop star', he often still had to work very hard (to the point where he suffered depression) in order to make a living. In fact, many of his works became famous only after his death. Furthermore, the quality of living was bad and there were wars which made life very hard. Compare it to the 'Pop stars' nowadays, I can't help but agree that they are nothing to the true 'Pop star'.

[Dave Lock]

Beethoven was acclaimed as a "Pop star" by the time this symphony was scored. He shunned both fame and fortune. All those who think they have talent come nowhere near to Ludwig.

[obtica1]

Beethoven's 9th, complete...

youtube.com/watch?v=EmV35VPRT9­s