With his third symphony, Ludwig van Beethoven created not only a musical masterpiece but also laid the foundation for the great classical-romantic works of this genre. The four-movement symphony, which has a duration of around fifty minutes and bears the nickname Eroica, broke through all formal dimensions that had existed up to that point. The first movement alone corresponds to the total length of a symphony by Mozart or Haydn. For the first time, a funeral march was also included in a symphony. This work, created under the impressions of the French Revolution, speaks primarily of passion, sorrow, and joy. Beethoven, as it is handed down, originally wanted to name his third symphony after the French consul Napoleon “Bonaparte,” whom he admired for a time. However, the disappointed composer is said to have swiftly discarded this idea after Napoleon’s self-coronation in 1804 and removed the title in rage from the cover page. The title of the first London score published in 1809 refers to an unknown hero or a “great man” (Sinfonia Eroica composta per celebrare la morte d'un Eroe or later per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand'uomo); thus, the “hero question,” despite numerous speculations, remains unresolved to this day. It is, however, no secret that Beethoven himself considered the Eroica to be his most significant symphony. PROGRAMLudwig van BeethovenSymphony No. 3 E-flat major Op. 55 (“Eroica”) All dates