ConcertPulse
Ticciati & Ridout
Philharmonie Berlin, Main Auditorium (Berlin)
December 1804. Furious, Beethoven scratches out the »intitolata Bonaparte« dedication on the title page of his new Third Symphony. Napoleon, who he had idealised, has truly declared himself Emperor! That does not suit the composer’s ideal of freedom. Instead, he dedicates the work, which he now calls ›Eroica‹, to a prince. That may not sound quite logical, but whatever. The music is bombastic. »Heaven and earth must shake at its performance!« a student of Beethoven’s wrote. Which holds true until this day.