Full Description
This Companion provides orientation for those embarking on the study of Beethoven's much-discussed Eroica Symphony, as well as providing fresh insights that will appeal to scholars, performers and listeners more generally. The book addresses the symphony in three thematic sections, on genesis, analysis and reception history, and covers key topics including political context, dedication, sources of the Symphony's inspiration, 'heroism' and the idea of a 'watershed' work. Critical studies of writings and analyses from Beethoven's day to ours are included, as well as a range of other relevant responses to the work, including compositions, recordings, images and film. The Companion draws on previous literature but also illuminates the work from new angles, based on new evidence and a range of approaches by twelve leading scholars in Beethoven research.
Contents
Introduction Nancy November; Part I. Context and Genesis: 1. Beethoven and heroism in the age of revolutions Scott Burnham; 2. Beethoven's 'watershed'? Eroica's contexts and periodization Mark Ferraguto; 3. The symphony in Vienna and abroad around 1800 Erica Burrman; 4. Genesis and publication of the Eroica Federica Rovelli; Part II. Analytical Approaches: 5. Twentieth-century analytical approaches to the first movement William Drabkin; 6. Beethoven in the garden: the hero who practices resignation; or, the Eroica as 'late' work Vasili Byros; 7. Registering the Eroica Nicholas Marston; 8. After invention: traces and materials in the Eroica finale Elaine Sisman; Part III. Reception: 9. Who is the hero? The early reception of the Eroica Beate Angelika Kraus; 10. The Eroica in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Leon Botstein; 11. Performing, arranging and rearranging the Eroica: then and now Nancy November; 12. The Eroica endures: Beethoven's Third Symphony in the twenty-first century Melanie Lowe.
