Beethoven 3rd Symphony (5/5); 4th movement; 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.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Finale
• Allegro
• molto
• Nathaniel
• Ayers
• The
• Soloist
• Three
• Third
• Eroica
• Napoleon
• Bonaparte

[coloraturaalex]

thank you so much for this. i am studying ot at the moment for my music degree, and this has been so helpful; both the way you have put it all together, and the wonderful commentary at the side!! thanks for the help. very, very much appreciated. very kind of you to put in such effort.

[mahlerite]

C--

I'm grateful for your kind words and am glad to know that some people not only peruse the Beethoven descriptions but actually strive to learn something from them.

Have a good day and good luck with your studies.

--M

[veggychristian]

Thank you so much for uploading this entire symphony, it's wonderful!

[armandoorque]

6:21 :)

[obtica1]

@whneo97 see the full version in my youtube channel...

[whneo97]

APPLAUSE!!!!

[whneo97]

@obtica1 o_0 I'm led to my Youtube homepage...

[obtica1]

Beethoven's 9th, excellent quality...

youtube.com/watch?v=EmV35VPRT9­s

[AFOH]

@HerlockSholmes123

In the middle of the previous video.

[Hobitman62]

I just.....wow.

[Pianoguy32]

advert sucks

[PopCultureSucks]

This is one of my favorite symphonies by Beethoven, thanks for uploading the whole thing!

[StateRape]

Thank you for this posting. Just placed an order with Amazon for the same recording. Bernstein knew the meaning of Sforzando. Brilliant!

[SirSebastianWang]

@gesavin65847

Comparing the end of the Eroica to hip hop? Don't insult the Master.