Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)

Beethoven in 1804

The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ("Eroica"), Op. 55 is a work for orchestra. It was written in 1803 by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1804, and premiered on 7 April 1805 at the Theater an der Wien. Beethoven did not want the symphony to be about Napoleon, but he did want to dedicate it to him. When Beethoven learned Napoleon had declared himself Emperor, he tore the dedication page in pieces. The symphony was published in 1806 with the subtitle "Eroica" (Heroic). The symphony has four movements (parts).

I. Allegro con brio

The first movement has a tempo of Allegro, which is moderately fast. It is in Unable to parse music symbol time time, and it uses sonata form. It starts with two loud E-flat major chords. Then, the first main melody of the movement is played by the cellos. After a few minutes, the second main melody is played in B-flat major.

Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven) Media

• 

  Beethoven most likely composed the Eroica in reverse order.

• 

  Beethoven originally dedicated the symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured: Bonaparte, First Consul, by Ingres), only to renege after the latter declared himself Emperor of the French.

References

• Woodstra, Chris, et. al. 2005. All Music Guide to Classical Music. All Media Guide, LLC. p. 102. ISBN 0-87930-865-6.