Program notes for A HEROIC FINALE
By Emily Reese

Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72
Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat, Op. 55 (Eroica)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Baptized Dec. 17, 1770; Bonn, Germany
d. March 26, 1827; Vienna
Leonore Overture No. 3 premiered Fidelio November 20, 1805

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat premiered in private performance in 1804, publicly in Vienna, April 7, 1805
Beethoven wrote Fidelio and Eroica at a time when the subject or thought of a “hero” interested him, particularly tales involving a protagonist who works to overthrow tyranny for the sake of liberty or justice. Perhaps he had always been inspired by such heroics, but the idea became more blatant in his works. Fidelio is one such example, in which Leonore’s husband, Florestan, is imprisoned because of his disparate political views with the governor of a Seville prison.

Unlike Fidelio, Eroica deals with a very real hero in Napoleon Bonaparte. The story behind the composition of Beethoven’s Third Symphony is wrought with legend. The prevailing history behind the Third is that Beethoven was to dedicate to, or inscribe it for, Bonaparte. Upon hearing news that Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France, it is said that Beethoven flew into a rage, tearing up the title page to the Third Symphony, the symphony Beethoven intended to call Bonaparte. The composer’s reaction to hearing such news is likely accurate, given his disdain for leaders he perceived as abusing their power. But the circumstances surrounding the attachment of Bonaparte’s name are more complex, given that Beethoven eventually wrote “Geschrieben auf Bonaparte” on his own copy of the score to Eroica.

Dedicating the symphony to Bonaparte would have reduced Beethoven’s income from the work. Beethoven also planned to move to Paris, and had a tour scheduled there that was canceled about the same time he changed the name of the symphony. Whatever the reasons, Beethoven removed Bonaparte’s name from both title and dedication, and the symphony is simply called Eroica (“heroic”).

The evolution of the Leonore Overtures is an interesting one, if not misleading. Even the name is storied; Beethoven called his opera Leonore while the theater more or less forced him to change it to Fidelio. It is the only opera he finished, and given the amount of revisions, it was “finished” a number of times in his career.

Fidelio premiered during French-occupied Vienna in November of 1805. Many of Beethoven’s supporters had fled the city, and although this certainly had an effect on the initial failure of Fidelio, the opera was in dire need of revisions. Critics disapproved of its length and dramatic lulls, and suggested Beethoven rework the entire composition.

He did just that, and each revision spawned a new overture, although the numbers for the four overtures are puzzling and out of order. The audience at the initial Vienna premiere heard Leonore No. 2. The 1806 revival bore Leonore No. 3, and for an 1807 Prague performance that never happened, Beethoven wrote Leonore No. 1. Beethoven once more revised the overture in 1814, removing much of the dramatic projection evident in the first three Leonores to write a toned-down version, simply called the Fidelio Overture. Each revision brought more acclaim to the opera.

Leonore No. 3 is a miniature outline of the Fidelio opera. It begins in Florestan’s prison cell in Seville. Florestan has memories of his love for Leonore, and the life they led before his imprisonment. The first of the famous trumpet calls, halfway through the piece, foreshadow Florestan’s release from prison; the second trumpet call announces his release. So great is Leonore No. 3, it is said to overshadow the entire first act of the opera.

Beethoven wrote Eroica and Fidelio toward the beginning of his second, or middle, period, also referred to as his heroic period. He began stretching forms and toying with alternative resolutions for keys. Instead of writing minuets, the standard dance-style used as the third movement in symphonies written in the Classical era, Beethoven started using scherzos instead.

It is said that while rehearsing Eroica in 1804, Beethoven had trouble hearing the wind instruments.  Yet he heard well enough to conduct rehearsals of Fidelio one year later, and continued performances as a pianist.

Beethoven’s Eroica is often considered as the sunset of the Classical era and the dawn of Romanticism. While late 18th century composers hinted at a new era of classical music, no one stormed through the doors into the Romantic style quite like Beethoven did with his Eroica. Sonata form ruled the Classical era, and Mozart and Haydn thoroughly exhausted it. Beethoven did adhere to Sonata form in principle, but he expanded it a great deal. The first movement of Eroica is nearly 700 measures long, this without repeating the 191-measure exposition. The development section, a section used to transition between the exposition and the recapitulation, is itself more than 100 measures longer than the exposition, serving up another anomaly in the first movement alone.

Beethoven wrote during a time when keys were often chosen for their individual meaning. E-flat major symbolized the heroic or noble, and C-minor also had personal significance for Beethoven. The Funeral March, in C-minor, probably didn’t have a direct connection to the Beethoven’s interest in Bonaparte; but, Beethoven did say, “I have already composed the proper music for that catastrophe,” when he heard Napoleon died in May of 1821.

The final movement is a theme and variations, a form of composition at which Beethoven excelled. Historian William Drabkin says of the last movement of Eroica, “[it is Beethoven’s] first major synthesis of variation and sonata-form principles.”

Concerto for Trumpet
Aleksandr Grigori Arutiunian
b. September 23, 1920; Yerevan, Armenia

Aleksandr Arutiunian began his studies at the Komitas Conservatory in Armenia before moving on to the Moscow Conservatory. His graduation piece, Cantata on the Homeland, won the State Prize of the USSR in 1941. Arutiunian served as the artistic director for the Armenian Philharmonic Society for nearly 40 years, ending that post in 1990. He also taught composition at the Armenian Conservatory for much of his career.

Arutiunian’s Concerto for Trumpet would not otherwise be popular if it weren’t for the trumpeter he wrote it for: the world-renowned Timofei Dokschitzer. Dokschitzer brought the Concerto with him to the United States, and Arutiunian’s piece is now a fixation in the repertoire of most trumpet players.

The Concerto, written in 1950, contains the obvious influence of Arutiunian’s Armenian heritage. Rather than a three-movement work, the Concerto is one movement with sections delineated by tempo and style changes. After the introductory fanfare, the main theme begins, brisk and showy. The slower sections of Arutiunian’s Concerto do not appear as interruptions to the buoyant quicker melodies, but rather as opulent, stunning exhibits of the trumpet’s lyrical side. A dazzling cadenza closes out the exotic Concerto.

Arutiunian still resides in his native town of Yerevan.