Happy Birthday Beethoven!

In honor of Ludwig’s 238th birthday, take a listen to his 3rd Symphony, the “Eroica” or “heroic” symphony. Beethoven was originally planning to dedicate this piece to Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he considered to embody the ideals of the French Revolution which he admired so much.  But before the symphony was finished, Napoleon began to show himself to be a tyrant and warmonger, and when Beethoven heard that he’d had himself crowned Emperor he flew into a disgusted rage and yelled, “So he is no more than a common mortal! Now, too, he will tread under foot all the rights of man, indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men, become a tyrant!” Beethoven went to the table, seized the top of the title-page, tore it in half and threw it on the floor; it had to be re-written, and he dedicated the piece instead to “the memory of a great man.” It is still widely considered the first great piece of the Romantic era, and it’s said to “reflect the spirit of hope and prosperity that had overtaken Europe at the start of the 19th century…”