Beethoven, Egmont Overture, Op. 84, Thielemann, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Sostenuto, ma non troppo, Allegro - Egmont, Op. 84, by Ludwig van Beethoven, is a set of incidental music pieces for the 1787 play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It consists of an overture followed by a sequence of nine additional pieces for soprano, male narrator and full symphony orchestra. Beethoven wrote it between October 1809 and June 1810, and it was premiered on 15 June 1810.

The subject of the music and dramatic narrative is the life and heroism of a 16th-century Dutch nobleman, the Count of Egmont. It was composed during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, at a time when the French Empire had extended its domination over most of Europe. Beethoven had famously expressed his great outrage over Napoleon Bonaparte's decision to crown himself Emperor in 1804, furiously scratching out his name in the dedication of the Eroica Symphony. In the music for Egmont, Beethoven expressed his own political concerns through the exaltation of the heroic sacrifice of a man condemned to death for having taken a valiant stand against oppression. The Overture would later become an unofficial anthem of the 1956 Hungarian revolution.

The music was greeted with eulogistic praise, in particular by E.T.A. Hoffmann for its poetry, and Goethe himself declared that Beethoven had expressed his intentions with "a remarkable genius".

The overture, powerful and expressive, is one of the last works of his middle period; it has become as famous a composition as the Coriolan Overture, and is in a similar style to the Fifth Symphony, which he had completed two years earlier.

01. Overture: Sostenuto, ma non troppo - Allegro
02. Lied: "Die Trommel gerühret"
03. Entracte: Andante0 4. Entracte: Larghetto
05. Lied: "Freudvoll und Leidvoll"
06. Entracte: Allegro - Marcia
07. Entracte: Poco sostenuto e risoluto
08. Mort de Klärchen
09. Melodram: "Süßer Schlaf"
10. Siegessymphonie (symphony of victory): Allegro con brio

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Beethoven
• Egmont
• Overture
• Thielemann
• Vienna
• Philharmonic
• Orchestra
• Classical

[panicandfoblvr]

Mr. Conductor Man does not have a score!

[Kimutaimaina]

If you look closer you'll see that there are actually three women in the orchestra. one playing 1st violin, one at second violin and the other playing viola.

[tierzuchtZentral]

@nudopiano There is only one woman in that orchestra, cause that isn't Europe, but Vienna in the year 2012!!!

[chud456]

Takes me back to HS orchestra :)

[violin976]

Love it

[TheHammertoss]

@nudopiano Because that has been their tradition for years. Who cares? It seems to work well for them. I'm sure if you are looking to count heads, there are plenty of other world-class orchestras to which you can listen.

[nudopiano]

why is there only one woman in the orchestra??? anyone knows????

[MariusChamberlin]

@LeakyWicks Okay, just wanted to make sure you were joking. :P

[LeakyWicks]

@MariusChamberlin What a blatant disregard of the Great Austrian Tradition!!!! I can hear Celibidache rolling over in his grave!!! She needs to be shot and replaced with a male violinist of pure bred Reptilian Shapeshifter!!!

[MariusChamberlin]

@LeakyWicks You're kidding, right?