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Essay / An analysis of Symphony No. 3 in E flat major op. 55 Or Heroic Symphony, a musical masterpiece by Ludwig Van Beethoven
IntroductionSymphony No. 3 in E flat major op. 55, or known as the "Eroica Symphony", is one of the composer's most famous works. This piece marks the beginning of the second of the composer's three musical periods and is considered an important turning point in classical-style composition for a multitude of reasons and purposes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay The study for this work took place when Beethoven lived in the small village of Heiligenstadt; a small village outside of Vienna. It was in this village that Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers Carl and Johann, explaining his growing despair over impending deafness and his uncertainty over whether or not he would be able to complete his artistic vision as a composer. This letter, today known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, is considered a great source of inspiration for the emotional depth that Beethoven managed to express with the Eroica symphony, creating a landmark piece that would influence the transition to the romantic period.Analysis of the symphonyIn terms of the form and instrumentation of the work, if one were to study the score and pay attention to the length of the symphony, one would immediately notice that the work is almost twice as long as 'a traditional classical symphony from the same period. The first movement itself, which lasts between 12 and 18 minutes, could be considered the length of a traditional classical symphony. As a result, audiences viewed this symphony as a large-scale work, unlike anything they had previously heard from the then 33-year-old composer. However, Beethoven received mixed reviews throughout the symphony's early performances, as some audience members believed. was a masterpiece while others considered it extremely difficult to understand and infinitely long that an amateur simply would not be able to manage in its entirety. The instrumentation of the work uses two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in Bb, two bassoons, three horns in Eb, C and F, two trumpets in Eb and C, timpani in Eb and Bb and strings. This instrumentation required the addition of 22 additional musicians to the classical-style ensemble, greatly increasing the size of the single piece. The first movement of this symphony is quite different from Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major since the Eroica begins with two giant block chords that establish the key of the piece. Symphony No. 1, however, begins in a completely different key than the original key before establishing the key. These characteristics specific to each symphony are nevertheless surprising in different styles, even if the two symphonies were written only about two years apart. The exposition of the Eroica is in triple time, in sonata form containing a coda, and is marked Allegro con Brio like Beethoven. was a fan of writing in fast triple meter. The second movement is a ternary style funeral march (ABA) and is marked Adagio assai. This is the movement in which many critics believe contains great emotional significance on the part of the composer. It was played at the funeral of Felix Mendelssohn and was performed to mourn the deaths of presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. The third movement is a fast Scherzo set in ternary time and is marked Allegro Vivace. Once again, we see that Beethoven abandons..