140
round off the movement, Beethoven
composed a hugely extended
development, falling between a
long exposition and recapitulation,
and ending with a coda of more
than 100 measures.
Not only was the extreme
duration and balance of the first
movement unusual, but Beethoven
also introduced an entirely new
theme after the exposition (where
all themes were traditionally first
stated) had ended. This new theme
was in E major, a key very far from
the home key of the piece.
The shape of the opening theme
of the “Eroica” is also atypical.
It includes a C-sharp, a rogue note
that does not belong in the key of
E-flat major, and so pulls the music
away from its home key and
unsettles it. As a result, Beethoven
had to rewrite this subject in the
recapitulation to get rid of the
C-sharp and create a satisfactory
resolution. This defied the rules
of sonata form, in which the
recapitulation is meant to contain
the work’s musical ideas in the
same form as they appeared in
the exposition.Beyond the thematic manipulation,
the music of the first movement is
full of syncopations that distort
the listener’s sense of the rhythm.
Also, strong dissonances—ugly
to listeners in the early 1800s—
leap out, where major and minor
seconds (notes two semitones and
one semitone apart, respectively)
grate against each other.Constant surprises
Beethoven followed the huge
structure of the first movement,
with its surprising tonal twists and
turns, with a slow movement, cast
as a Marcia funebre, or funeral
march. It is an intensely dramatic
piece, with the minor-key opening
theme eventually giving way to
a blazing, more hopeful C major,
before the opening theme returns
and is presented as a fugato—a
short fuguelike piece, where the
theme is imitated simultaneously
by different instruments as if they
are chasing each other. To have
such rich and intricate musical
textures woven so extensively
into more than one movement
was groundbreaking.BREAKING THE MOLD OF THE CLASSICAL SONATA
The third movement is lighter—a
lively scherzo (Italian for “joke”).
Like most scherzo symphony
movements, it includes a trio
middle section based on three
instruments. Beethoven innovated
here by using French horns more
prominently in a symphony than
ever before. These instruments had
no valves in the early 1800s, so they
could play arpeggios only in a single
key, which made them sound
especially martial, like a battle call.
The main theme of the scherzo
starts in an unexpected key. The
music has already changed key,
from E-flat to B-flat, before the oboe
finally begins the theme. Once
again, Beethoven was deliberately
catching his audience by surprise.The end and beyond
The finale of “Eroica” is a set of
variations on a theme. Although
this was not the first symphony toThe Lobkowitz Palace, in Vienna,
in a colored etching by Vincenz Reim
(1796–1858), was the site of the first
performance of Beethoven's Symphony
No. 3 in August 1804.This strange and
thundering work, the
most extensive and
richly artistic piece of
all those created by
Beethoven’s original
and wondrous spirit.
Opening of a review
Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung
(February 18, 1807)US_138-141_Beethoven_Eroica.indd 140 26/03/18 1:00 PM