Friday Music: Karajan – Beethoven’s 3rd (Eroica)

Like all rebel music, this is meant to be played loud. It’s questionable whether or not it was intended as a piece for Napoleon. If so, then it’s a big political statement that Beethoven made as Napoleon represented a threat to the royal houses of Europe. It’s also his first major work after starting to hear a buzzing in his ears, which would eventually make end in deafness. He was keenly aware of his own mortality and eager to create something new rather than retread the ideas of established composers.

You can read more about it at this site dedicated to the symphony.

If you want to know how loud to play it – if the neighbours aren’t complaining then it’s not loud enough.

On a connected note, Beethoven wasn’t the only musician who was inspired by Napoleon. Below is a video explaining how to write a fugue. The example the speaker uses must surely be a reference to Napoleon’s return from Elba which plunged Europe into war for a second time.