HEROIC SYMPHONY
Ach, der menschliche Intellekt! Ach "Genie"! Es ist nicht so gar
viel einen "Faust" eine Schopenhauerische Philosophie, eine Eroika
gemacht zu haben.
--Friederich Nietzshe.
The immediate fruit of this mental travail was a sudden growth or
expansion of his creative powers. This is apparent in his work, marking
the beginning of the second period. His compositions now suggest
thought. There is a fecundating power in them which generates thought,
and it is in the moral nature that this force is most apparent. His work
now begins to be a vital part of himself, the spiritual essence,
communicating to his followers somewhat of his own strength and force of
character. Once having entered on the new path, he reached, in the Third
Symphony, the pinnacle of greatness almost at a bound. He was now, at
thirty-four, at the height of his colossal powers. His titanic genius in
its swift development showed an ability almost preternatural. One
immortal work of genius succeeded another with marvelous rapidity.
The Third Symphony calls for more than passing notice. Beethoven's
altruism is well known. The brotherhood of man was a favorite theme with
him. By the aid of his mighty intellect and his intuitional powers, he
saw more clearly than others the world's great need. The inequalities in
social conditions were more clearly marked in those times than now. The
French Revolution had set people thinking. Liberty and equality was what
they were demanding. Beethoven personally had nothing to gain and
everything to risk by siding with the people. All his personal friends
were of the aristocracy. It was this class which fostered the arts,
music in particular. From the time that Beethoven came to Vienna as a
young man, up to the end of his life, he enjoyed one or more pensions
given him by members of the upper classes. But his sympathies were with
the people. By honoring Napoleon with the dedication of the Third
Symphony, he would have antagonized the Imperial family, and perhaps
many of the aristocracy, but this phase of the question may not have
occurred to him, and if it had, it would not have deterred him.
Beethoven's attitude toward Napoleon could have had no other
construction placed upon it than that of strong partisanship, since
there was no artistic bond to unite them. The arch-enemy of Imperialism,
as he was considered at this time, the mightiest efforts of the young
Corsican had hitherto been directed specially against Austria. Beethoven
did not approve of war; he expressed himself plainly on this point in
after years, but at this period considered it justifiable and necessary
as a means of abolishing what remained of feudal authority.
Austria had been the first to feel the iron hand of Napoleon. His first
important military achievement, and what is generally conceded to be the
greatest in his entire military career, was his campaign against the
Austrians in Italy, which took place in the spring of 1796, shortly
after his marriage. His victories over them first gave him fame, not
only in France, but throughout Europe. Within a month from the time that
he took command in the Italian campaign, he won six victories over them,
giving the French army the command of the whole range of the Alps.
Within a year he had driven the Austrians out of Italy, many thousands
of prisoners were taken, ten thousand men had been killed or wounded,
fifty-five pieces of cannon had been taken, besides rich provinces,
which he looted to enrich France. He pursued his campaign into Austria,
getting to within ninety miles of Vienna with his army, where he
dictated terms of peace to the Emperor, which were highly advantageous
to France. Appalled by these catastrophies, the court was even preparing
to flee from Vienna and was arranging for the safe carriage of the
treasure, when the Emperor accepted Napoleon's terms. The humiliation to
Austria was accentuated by the fact that her armies were nearly twice
that of France. They were also in good condition, while the French
armies were ragged and half starved. With this inferior equipment
Bonaparte humbled the most haughty nation in Europe in the space of a
year. He defeated them again in 1800, at Marengo, and was at all times
their arch-enemy.
All this happened some years before the period of which we are writing.
Beethoven regarded Napoleon as a liberator, a savior, on account of his
success in restoring order out of chaos in France. It showed
considerable moral courage on his part to come out so plainly for
Napoleon. A broader question than patriotism, however, was here
involved. Patriotism seeks the good of a small section. Altruism
embraces the good of all, thus including patriotism.
The idea of writing the symphony to Napoleon may have been suggested to
Beethoven by General Bernadotte, who was then the Ambassador of the
French at Vienna. He and Count Moritz Lichnowsky were intimate friends
and saw a good deal of Beethoven at that time. The three young men no
doubt discussed social conditions and politics, as well as music, and it
would have been an easy task for the General, who had served under
Napoleon, to excite Beethoven's enthusiasm for the Liberator of France.
In after years, when General Bernadotte became King of Sweden, he still
retained his interest in the events of this period.
This Symphony was the best work which Beethoven had yet accomplished; a
work the grandeur and sublimity of which must have been a surprise to
himself. It was conceived in the spirit of altruism, to show his
appreciation of the man whom he believed was destined more than any
other to uplift humanity. In the quality of its emotional expression,
and also in its dimensions, it far exceeded anything of the kind that
had yet appeared. Beethoven himself advised, on account of its great
length, that it be placed at the beginning of a program rather than at
its end. It is unique as a symphony, just as Napoleon was unique as a
man. On finishing the work he put the name of Bonaparte on the
title-page.
BONAPARTE
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
With perfect propriety the concept is here established that two great
men are before the world, Napoleon and Beethoven, and that the latter is
as great in his own province as was Napoleon in his, each being the
exponent of a new order of things, co-equal in the achievement of great
deeds. Posterity, in exalting the one and debasing the other, shows how
modest Beethoven was in the matter.
He was on the point of sending it to Paris when the news was brought him
by his pupil Ries, that Napoleon was declared Emperor. In a rage
Beethoven tore off the title-page containing the dedication, and threw
it to the floor. "The man will become a tyrant and will trample all
human rights under foot. He is no more than an ordinary man!" was
Beethoven's exclamation. He finally gave it the name of Sinfonia Eroica,
in memory of a great man. It is dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who had
it performed before Prince Louis Ferdinand. The Prince was greatly taken
with it, at once recognizing its worth and insisting on hearing it three
times in succession the same evening.
This year saw the production of two of Beethoven's most famous
pianoforte sonatas, the Waldstein, already referred to in this work,
dedicated to the friend of his youth, Count Waldstein, and the
Appassionata, dedicated to Count von Brunswick, sublime conceptions that
glow with the fire of genius.
Mention must also be made of the famous Kreutzer Sonata, opus 47, for
piano and violin, which was completed prior to the Third Symphony. This
great work was originally intended for an English violinist resident at
Vienna by the name of Bridgetower, and was first performed at a morning
concert at the Augarten in May of 1803. Beethoven was at the piano and
Bridgetower played the violin part. Beethoven had completed a portion of
the work the previous year, but the violin part had to be played almost
before the ink was dry, the piano accompaniment being made up by
Beethoven as he went along. Notwithstanding this entire want of
preparation, the value of the work was so apparent that it produced an
encore.
Beethoven changed his mind about the dedication, and a year or two later
this distinction was conferred on a friend, Rudolph Kreutzer, violinist
and composer, who had come to Vienna in 1798 with Bernadotte, and as a
matter of course, became acquainted with Beethoven. Kreutzer had been a
protégé of Marie Antoinette; afterward he was taken up by Napoleon, and
still later by Louis XVIII, each of whom he served in his musical
capacity. The Kreutzer Sonata has had a wide notoriety given it through
Tolstoy's work of that name.