Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major Op. 55 Eroica

The total humanism that inspires Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica, goes far beyond the epic and bellicose perimeter of the title: love, pain, strength, and will are the true moral protagonists of this masterpiece. We know that until the summer of 1804 the symphony was still titled “Buonaparte.” Two years later, in the first printed edition, the final title had already changed to “Sinfonia Eroica, composed to celebrate the sovereignty of a great Man.” Napoleon had indeed thrown off his mask, becoming Emperor, light years away from the ideals of Beethoven, who nonetheless continued to speak of a “great man,” celebrated in music in his fundamental moments: the struggle, the dismay at death, the eternal memory of his deeds. Never in the history of music had there been such a sharp leap forward from the past. Beethoven, who knew full well that he had surpassed himself, would for many years consider the Eroica his best symphony. It would take the arrival of the Ninth for him to adjust this conviction.