Beethoven Symphony 3 Analysis

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1820) was a classical composer whose music played an important role in the transition from the classical period (1750-1820) to the romantic period (1820-1900) of the western music. Beethoven was born in what today is Germany in the year 1770, he came from a family of musicians. As a kid, he showed great ability to perform the piano, therefore, since a very young age he was forced to practice long hours by his drunk father. Even though he was forced to played, which would probably make anybody hate it, Beethoven became one of the best musicians of all times. Hence, as a tribute to such a great composer, the Houston Symphony, on its three-week season of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, performed his Symphony No. 3. Being
As is known in the popular knowledge, Beethoven started this composition as a dedication to French general Napoleon Bonaparte, because he represented the liberty ideal that Beethoven believed in. Unfortunately for Napoleon, when he declared himself emperor, Beethoven thought he was just another simple human being, so he crossed out Napoleon’s name from the symphony. Nevertheless, the most important thing was still there, heroism, which according to the music director was Beethoven’s real
3, also known as the Eroica Symphony, consist of four movements. Moreover, according to Orozco-Estrada, the symphony represents the history of titan Prometheus. On the first movement, which is in sonata form, according to Orozco-Estrada, Beethoven introduces the hero, in this case, Prometheus. Prometheus, given his love for humanity, gives the fire to the humankind, as a gift. Since the fire is a privilege among the gods, the gods punished Prometheus, which leads to the next movement of the symphony. Next, the second movement is Marcia funebre. Beethoven used the fugue technique in the composition of this part, a technique which was common during the baroque period (1500-1750) but was not very popular during Beethoven’s time. This movement, according to Orozco-Estrada, represents the downfall of the hero his punishment, or probably his death. This may also represent Napoleon after he declared himself emperor and betraying his principles. Then, starts the third movement which is Scherzo and Trio. This is the shortest movement, roughly about five minutes long. The most interesting part of this is the mighty French horns, which according to the conductor, represents the hero’s rising from