play time 11:46 minutes
Leonora Overture No.3
Ludwig van Beethoven
baptized December 17, 1770, Bonn, Germany
died March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria
The second-oldest child of a court musician and tenor singer, Ludwig's
father subjected him to brutal training, with the ambition of showcasing him as
a child prodigy like Mozart. Failing in this, the young Beethoven evertheless
embraced music and, in 1792, chose Vienna as his residence, taking studies
with Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Schenck and Salieri. By 1795, he was hailed
as a genius and a master of improvisation at the piano, becoming known
throughout Europe and awarded by generous patrons. This is considered his
"Early Period". His earliest compositions reflected the classical restraint of
Haydn and Mozart, with flashes of intense emotion and originality, like his
Piano Sonata in C minor, ("Pathetique" 1798).
It was during 1798-1800 that Beethoven became aware of his advancing
deafness. Although it ended his performing career, his compositions gained
in richness and power, during this "Middle Period".
Composers usually organized movements into three parts. First the "exposition",
which introduced the musical themes of the piece. Next, the "development",
which took those themes and modified them. Finally, "recapitulation", which
restated the main themes. Symphony No.3 in E-flat major ("Eroica" 1803)
starts with two massive emphatic cords, lingering on a mysterious harmony. In
this work Beethoven expanded the dimensions of the Symphony, redefining
and reshaping the classical standards.
Beethoven no longer adhered to traditional classic forms and works during his
"late Period". For Beethoven, the act of composition and revisions had always
been a struggle, as the tortuous scrawls of the over 7000 pages of sketchbooks
show. The Sonata op.111 had only two movements; whereas there were
seven in the String Quartet op.131. The sense of agonizing effort is a part
of the music.
Having never married, during the last ten years of his life, he was increasingly
socially isolated. He assumed the guardianship of his nephew Karl after a lengthy
legal struggle, with whom he poured his solicitude, jealousy, and expectations
in an effort to shape the boy according to his wishes.
Beethoven begins his Leonora Overture No.3 with a forbidding tone, with
rather murky sounding strings. Then the winds come in with a theme of hope.
Finally from off stage a trumpet announces a jubilant victory. Many consider this
to be a musical debate between the forces of darkness and the forces of light.
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