SOSL to perform Beethoven’s favourite Symphony
View(s):The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka (SOSL) will perform Beethoven’s ‘Heroic’ Symphony when they presents their Masterworks concert on November 3 at the Ladies’ College hall, under the baton of dynamic resident conductor, Dushyanthi Perera. The performance is dedicated to Dr. Earle de Fonseka who was the conductor of the SOSL from 1960 to 2000.
Beethoven wrote his ‘Heroic’ symphony (Symphony No.3 in E flat, ‘Eroica’) in 1803, at a time when there were deep seated changes taking place in Europe after the French revolution, and he himself was coming to terms with the greatest of personal tragedies that could befall a composer, the onset of incurable deafness. The symphony was originally dedicated to Napoleon, whom Beethoven saw as a liberator of mankind against tyranny. However, when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, Beethoven flew into a rage and destroyed the title page with Napoleon’s name. The dedication was changed to read “composed to celebrate the memory of a great man”.
The ‘Eroica’ was a revolutionary work which changed the way symphonic music would be written long thereafter. It was on a larger scale than any classical symphony written up to that time. It was not only longer, but in its emotional depth and spiritual content it surpasses anything before and most that have been written since. In many ways the ‘Eroica’ is best understood as a portrait of the inner life of the composer. The hero is Beethoven himself, and what the listener hears is the defiant inner struggle to overcome fate, the stark contemplation of death and despair, the uprising of creative energy on coming to terms with fate, and the exultation of victory over all obstacles and barriers of existence. In this symphony, for the first time, a composer was creating a narrative conveying a spiritual message purely through music, without the use of words. Music has never been the same since.
The first movement right from the beginning takes the listener to the essence of the movement – conflict and struggle and their resolution. The inner battle is brought to life musically by conflict of musical elements and ideas. There are crashing discords, sudden accents and changes of dynamics, displaced rhythms, unexpected thematic developments and changes of harmony and mood, all coming together with a sense of inevitability that only Beethoven could bring about to create a magnificent architecture.
The second movement is a grief laden funeral march in the form of a rondo with two episodes of contrasting character. In the short coda that ends the movement, Beethoven creates a magical moment of absolute serenity and peace, with a new theme in a new key, before the theme of the funeral march returns in a fragmentary form. This is followed by a scherzo of remarkable vitality with characteristic shifts of accents and meter. The trio section is a happy melodic fanfare for three horns. The inclusion of three horns instead of the usual two in a symphony orchestra is one of the many innovations found in the symphony.
The final movement is a set of variations on a theme used by Beethoven in his ballet “Prometheus”. In mythology, Prometheus was a Titan who championed mankind. He represented human striving. It is not surprising that Beethoven chose a theme from this ballet for the final movement. The variations which create a variety of triumphant moods flow seamlessly from one to the other. Within the Allegro Molto movement there is an andante section which presents an awe inspiring transformation of the theme, which has been likened by Sir Donald Tovey, the famous musicologist to “the opening of the gates of paradise”. The coda which ends the work is an outburst of fire which is truly promethean.
The ‘Eroica’ was the composer’s favourite symphony.
Tickets and box plan are available from the Lionel Wendt Theatre Office from October 20.