Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Opus 55 (also Italian Sinfonia Eroica, Heroic Symphony) is a structurally rigorous composition which marked the beginning of the creative middle-period of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
Beethoven began composing the third symphony soon after Symphony No. 2 in D major, Opus 36; he completed the composition in early 1804, and the first public performance of Symphony No. 3 was on 7 April 1805 in Vienna.
On display at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague is a first published edition (1806) of Beethoven's Eroica, as well as other Beethoven treasures including manuscripts of the 4th and 5th symphonies, featuring Beethoven's own corrections and annotations for performance.
Later, about the composer's response to Napoleon having proclaimed himself Emperor of the French (14 May 1804), Beethoven's secretary, Ferdinand Ries said that:
"In writing this symphony, Beethoven had been thinking of Buonaparte, but Buonaparte while he was First Consul. At that time Beethoven had the highest esteem for him, and compared him to the greatest consuls of Ancient Rome. Not only I, but many of Beethoven's closer friends, saw this symphony on his table, beautifully copied in manuscript, with the word "Buonaparte" inscribed at the very top of the title-page and "Ludwig van Beethoven" at the very bottom ...
I was the first to tell him the news that Buonaparte had declared himself Emperor, whereupon he broke into a rage and exclaimed, "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. The page had to be recopied, and it was only now that the symphony received the title Sinfonia eroica."
The Second movement, the marcia funebre, has been played by itself at many historic moments of despair. In 1963, the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave an impromptu performance of the second movement of the Eroica symphony to mourn the recently assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy. It was performed in 1972 at the Munich Olympics in honour of the memory of the Israeli Olympic Teem. It was also performed at the death of FDR.
Daniel Barenboim conducts Beethoven's 3rd symphony (Third Symphony, Eroica) with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
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