Eroica
I went to see Beethoven’s Third Symphony on Monday at the Gethsemanekirche. Conjured from Barenboim’s baton it was a performance I felt very fortunate to witness. It marked an anniversary. The tale goes like this:
In October 1989 the musicians of the Staatskapelle Berlin responded to the growing unrest in the city with the idea of a ‘Gedenkkonzert Gegen Gewalt’ - a Concert Against Violence. On the 5th November 2,500 crowded into and around the Gesthsemanekirche on Stargarder Staße. The director of the orchestra made the breif announcement ‘Die Mauer muss weg!’ (the wall must fall!) before the orchestra played Beethoven’s 3rd - the Eroica.
This symphony was originally concieved as an opus that would honour the nobility of Napoleon and the ideals of the French Revolution. When Napoleon was declared emporer, Beethoven went into a rage and tore the first page of his masterpiece in two. It is considered by many to symbolize the power of the people. It thus holds great importance to those on the political left, and it would be fair to say Berlin is a city of the left.
It also is recognised as heralding the start of the romantic period. This period came to end with the modern period, a period of gross hostility between German and French musicl ideals. Schopenhauer’s quote that German values had to crush wimsical French fancy and reign for hundred years was the famous line that summated the hostilities. Its nice to be a part of a time when those manifestos are done with and once again the old fraternity is at large.
Here are the Eroica variations for piano, also performed in a church, by Jenoe Jandó.
