Rentschler 1

Patty Rentschler

Professor Wood

MUS-103-001

May 4, 2009

Beethoven and the Problem of Heroism in Beethoven’s Third, Eroica

Beethoven and heroism: a perplexing and persistent theme that seems to go together

perfectly, somewhat like Stravinsky and his love of repetitious diminished chords. One must ask

why this problem, especially in regards to his third symphony, is still subjected to study and

scrutiny by music enthusiasts all over the globe. Does the sheer force of the symphony need to be

explained, or did the mention of Napoleon prompt a need for justification of the symphony‟s

“heroic” content? Furthermore, what musical elements give the sense of heroism? Is the music

heroic on its own? Or is the power of suggestion through labeling and dedication of the

symphony what makes it seem heroic?

To begin, an examination of the underlying historical context is necessary to further

analyze and pass judgment on the story behind the piece. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte declared

himself emperor before the religious hierarchy at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. In 1803,

Beethoven began composing the Eroica, then entitled „Bonaparte‟, after the military hero himself.

It is said that Beethoven was an avid follower of Napoleon and looked up to him greatly, but his

admiration took a sharp turn when he learned of his newly acquired title. Ferdinand Ries gives

possibly the best account of Beethoven‟s feelings toward Napoleon:

Beethoven had thought about Bonaparte during the period when he was still First Consul. At that time

Beethoven held him in the highest regard and compared him to the greatest Roman consuls. I myself, as
 Rentschler 2

well as many of his close friends, had seen this symphony, already copied in full score, lying on his table.

At the very top of the title page stood the word “Buonaparte” and at the very bottom “Luigi van

Beethoven,” but not a word more. Whether and with what the intervening space was to be filled I do not

know. I was the first to tell him the news that Bonaparte had declared himself emperor, whereupon he flew

into a rage and shouted: “So he too is nothing more than an ordinary man. Now he will also trample all

human rights underfoot, and only pander to his own ambition; he will place himself above everyone else

and become a tyrant!” Beethoven went to the table, took hold of the title page at the top, ripped it all the

way through, and flung it to the floor. The first page was written anew and only then did the symphony

receive the title Sinfonia eroica (Sipe 31).

One can see from this textual excerpt that Beethoven‟s feelings towards Napoleon survived a

very tumultuous relationship. There seems to be a lot of back and forth over the subject of the

symphony‟s dedication to Napoleon, along with some disagreement over the claim that

Beethoven tore the title page off the symphony. Historical evidence suggests, if not proves, that

he did not tear the title page in a fit of rage, but did indeed scratch out the name „Buonaparte‟.

When the symphony surfaced again it was only titled Eroica but correspondence between

Beethoven and his publisher reveals that Beethoven did initially mean for it to be a dedication to

Napoleon. Is that not enough to satisfy the question of the dedication? Does it even matter

whether or not he tore the title page? Perhaps the survival of the story is vital to understanding

the passion and temperament within Beethoven and how it transpired into a work of art.

What on earth could have possessed Beethoven to write such a revolutionary piece of

music? Isn‟t that what we are indeed asking ourselves in studying this? There has always been

some infatuation with knowing an artist‟s motives to create and what the final piece of art is

supposed to procure within ourselves. This brings to mind a quote from The Picture of Dorian

Gray in which the author delves into the perception of art. In the preface, Oscar Wilde writes:
 Rentschler 3

All art is at once surface and symbol.

Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.

Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.

It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.

Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.

And so we embark, at our own peril, to examine the heroic innards of Beethoven‟s third. Art

mirrors the spectator! If this is true what is the sense in trying to obtain some organic meaning to

Beethoven‟s work? Alas, it must be the historical proof that makes the piece worth studying;

which brings us to the problem of Beethoven‟s political enthusiasm. There are theories that

suggest Beethoven was politically somewhat of a radical from as early on as his ballet The

Creatures of Prometheus; and most interestingly, he was a strong sympathizer with Napoleon

long before he even began sketching the symphony Eroica (Sipe 33-35). This would explain his

energized reaction to Napoleon‟s emperorship and perhaps clues us into the dramatic darks and

lights of symphony itself. In conjunction with this, Constantin Floro hypothesized that

Beethoven‟s ballet The Creatures of Prometheus contains a hidden dedication to Napoleon

Bonaparte (Sipe 34). In 1797, the Italian poet Vincenzo Monti wrote a poem based upon the

story of Prometheus, which was then dedicated to Napoleon (Sipe 34). This drew many

connotations between the general and the legend of Prometheus, and though the poem and the

ballet may not be hand in hand, it is unlikely that the ballet bares no influence from the poem.

Stranger even is the fact that Floros, and later Peter Schleuning, contend that the libretto for the

ballet is actually somewhat of a program for the symphony Eroica (Sipe 34-35). The idea of the

symphony having a program will be discussed later, but for now we remain focused on

Beethoven‟s political energy and beliefs.

 Rentschler 4

In Beethoven: Eroica Symphony, Thomas Sipe writes of Beethoven‟s political beliefs as

being centered around his upbringing in Bonn and his understanding of the Catholic church (Sipe

40). Sipe encloses the first paragraph of Beethoven‟s reply to a request that he compose a sonata

supporting the French Revolution and/or Napoleon himself, and in this reply Beethoven is livid

that such a thing be asked of him.

Has the devil got hold of you all, gentlemen?-that you suggest that I should compose such a sonata-Well,

perhaps at the time of the revolutionary fever-such a thing might have been possible, but now, when

everything is trying to slip back into the old rut, now that Buonaparte has concluded his Concordat with the

Pope-to write a sonata of that kind?...(Sipe 39.

The quotation continues in a rather comical fashion which makes it seem as if Beethoven was

quite fond of sarcasm. This led me to believe that perhaps the perception of the symphony is all

wrong! What if the symphony is nothing more than a satire? What if Beethoven, who so

haughtily rejected anything having to do with Napoleon, was merely poking fun at the idea of

heroism? Perhaps he was the Kurt Vonnegut of his time, taunting us with beautiful and

revolutionary art while commenting full-force on the human condition. There is no doubt that

Beethoven was inspired greatly by his feelings of the political times, it is just a matter of how the

spectator perceives his elusive, political motives. This leaves us with the question: if it is meant

to be a satire, what “heroic” clichés can one find within the symphony itself?

The symphony begins, full orchestra, with two dramatic hits on an E-flat major chord.

Although this is strictly interpretative, the beginning has a sort of bombastic military quality to it.

It immediately jumps into the familiar and tuneful phrase carried by the cellos, with sparse

accompaniment from the higher strings. Beethoven plays with the idea of heroism and force by

weaving the tune in and out of the lower strings and horns. The symphony continues in war-like
 Rentschler 5

fashion, with twists and turns and unexpected c-sharps, only adding to the sense that victory

awaits our noble character. The underlying harmony between measures seven and thirty-seven is

a bit interesting. Beethoven sort of meanders around the tonic throughout these measures but

strays far enough away as to make the arrival in thirty-seven absolutely necessary. The tune is

eventually introduced with full orchestra behind it, conjuring up the sense that the hero has

arrived victorious to a welcoming crowd of followers. If we take this at face value, we certainly

get somewhat of a heroic cliché: the driving force, the prominent horns, and the overall sense

that the hero is a beloved figure that can never lose. Isn‟t this how all epics start out anyways?

The first movement remains jubilant and heroic with minimal periods of wandering and hints at

defeat, it is only until the second movement that we see the epic begin to unravel even more.

Beethoven was never afraid to venture into foreign forms for his pieces and the Eroica is

no different. In the second movement, Beethoven introduces a full-frontal funeral march. This

leaves many of us wondering: why kill the hero so suddenly? The funeral march can be traced as

far back as his Piano Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 in A flat Major, written in 1801. The piano sonata

itself was dedicated to Prince Carl von Lichnowsky, and holds many direct connections with the

Eroica symphony (Blom 93). In the third movement of the sonata, Beethoven writes a funeral

march on “the death of a hero”. Eric Blom writes that “the slow movement in the Sonata may

justifiably be regarded as a kind of sketch or exercise for the greater one in the Symphony.”

(Blom 94), which is not all too farfetched considering they share so many of the same

characteristics. On page ninety-eight of Blom‟s book, he refers to the hero in the sonata‟s funeral

march as being “unknown or purely imaginary”, as it was never outlined by Beethoven himself.

The same thing is true of the Eroica; though the dedication survives, a dedication is only a

dedication and is not necessarily programmed to fit the description of the recipient. This again
 Rentschler 6

prompts us with the question of why there is such a need for the content of the symphony to be

explained by text. Another of the most notable similarities between the sonata and the symphony

is the fact that they share a quote from Beethoven‟s ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. In the

symphony, the finale is characterized by an English dance which was derived from the ballet

(Sipe 12). The same theme is quoted within the piano sonata without hesitation or much

disfiguration. Now the idea of Prometheus has presented itself in reoccurring fashion, and there

are theories that Beethoven‟s ideas were more justifiably influenced by the epic tale of

Prometheus and other tragic heroes like him.

Our examination of the tragic hero being an underlying cause for the symphony begins

with a poem written as a program, or explanation of the first movement:

Cliff contra cliff stand the battling heroes!

Setting shield against shield, knee against knee,

And helmet to helmet, and plume rising against plumes,

Force wrestles with counterforce in threats of death (Sipe79).

The poet, as Sipe points out, had perhaps created this particular poem based upon Homer‟s

writings of the battle between the Greeks and Trojans in the Iliad (Sipe 80). The quote from

Homer is as follows:

Locking spear against spear, shield against shield,

Buckler leaned against buckler, helmet against helmet, warrior against warrior;

And the fluttering plumes of the nodding warriors intertwined

With bright glimmering peaks; so thickly united were the armies (Sipe 80).

How very interesting that a connection between Homer and Beethoven be drawn, even if from an

outside source. Sipe claims that Beethoven owned and was well read on a particular edition of
 Rentschler 7

the Iliad, which implies yet another model for the symphony to be written after. If we examine

the symphony, we can see that it is set up like an epic poem in some ways. It begins victoriously,

perhaps the hero is returning home after a long battle in which he defeated the enemy with great

honor. It soon morphs into the melancholy and macabre second movement whereupon the hero is

either distraught or going through some sort of impossibly difficult task. This could be the fall of

the hero, much like Achilles, or just the rough patch Odysseus experienced in The Odyssey. The

symphony then picks up and eventually ends with a sense that all is right and the hero has found

himself at peace in a much simpler place. In actuality, this sounds exactly like an epic by Homer,

whether it seems more like The Odyssey than The Iliad is up to the individual. Now we have

three possible stories for explaining the content behind the music: Napoleon, Prometheus (as

featured in Beethoven‟s ballet), and any number of Homer‟s works. This could very well be one

of the first programmatic symphonies if any of these theories are true.

In Beethoven‟s Piano Sonatas: A Short Comparison, author Charles Rosen mentions a

continuous roll in the left hand of the piano that is mimicking the sound of a drum roll, he

suggests that this is programmatic of Beethoven (Rosen 150-152). If clichés such as that are all

that makes a piece of music programmatic then program music must have existed long before the

romantic age. Thomas Sipe uses the term “semi-programmatic music” quite often throughout his

book on the Eroica, and it is an intriguing concept. It is not so much that the story is based

directly on a piece of text, but it is derived and influenced by the text. This fits with all three

theories of what is behind the symphony. Beethoven never directly says: “These chords

symbolize gunfire”, but one can still get the sense. This is unlike Berlioz, the seemingly supreme

creator of program music, who gives specific instructions on which parts of the music are telling

the story at any given time. If we are to adapt to the idea of semi-programmatic music, then
 Rentschler 8

Beethoven was surely pressing in the direction of romanticism. Does the symphony then mark a

shift from music being heroic to the composer being heroic?

Beethoven‟s influence during this middle period cannot be denied and certainly marks a

shift from the classical styles of Mozart and Haydn. Previous to the romantic era, there was

somewhat of a lack of writing out of passion or purpose. That is not to say that all the greats

before Beethoven did not leave themselves in their music, but Beethoven is generally credited as

being the first to put emotion before formality. In Beethoven and His Piano Works, Westerby

states that one would know that the third movement of opus twenty-six is meant to be the death

of a hero, even without the title. It is possible that Beethoven‟s compositions are so involved that

it drives the mind to make connections with the world around it in order to understand it better.

Is Beethoven then nothing but heroic for being able to conjure up such a thing? Charles Rosen

writes:

Beethoven in C minor has come to symbolize his artistic nature. In every case, it reveals Beethoven as Hero.

C minor does not show Beethoven at his most subtle, but it does give him to us in his most extrovert form,

where he seems to be impatient of any compromise (Rosen 134)

So here it stands, the music is merely an extension of Beethoven‟s own heroic nature. He

presents to us this music which unfolds unlike anything else of the time and forces us to pay

attention. In his determination to make us become active listeners, he has become the hero for the

time, and for future generations to look back upon. The music is no longer just music to be

admired, but music to be studied and prodded to gain insight into the hero, Beethoven. And have

we finally satisfied our questions?

The music on its own is complicated and majestic. It makes it hard to ignore and with the

idea of semi-programmatic music, it is interesting to see how Beethoven achieved certain

 Rentschler 9

expressions. By the sheer force the music alone, it is understandable why it is such a richly

studied piece. While the music is heroic alone, so is Beethoven for his constant push in the

direction of romanticism. It makes sense that this symphony is studied for the context behind it

when so many musicians are influenced by Beethoven. There is an ideal that by getting inside

the head of a “genius” that one might also gain insight on how to improve upon their own craft.

While this is fairly selfish, it shows the true impact that this symphony has had on the world.