Symphonie Nr. 3 in Es-Dur op. 55

There are a slew of stories in circulation as to how Beethoven’s Third Symphony came to be dubbed “Eroica.” The best-known explanation is that Beethoven wanted to dedicate the work to Napoléon Bonaparte. In fact, however, he dedicated the piece to Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian Lobkowitz, who acquired the temporary sole performance rights to the symphony and hosted its premiere at his palace in 1804.

Leaving aside the question of who the hero of “Eroica” is supposed to be, the second movement (known as the funeral march) is problematic, because it seems to undermine the “story” of the symphony. After all, why would you have a hero in your symphony and then kill him off before the end of the second movement? This sample includes the climax of the fugue section of the funeral march, as performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886–1954).
Furtwängler was the orchestra’s main subscription conductor between 1927 and 1930, and continued to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic as a guest conductor until 1954. He is considered one of the most important conductors of the 20th century, and his output is preserved on numerous recordings, including ten different versions of “Eroica” alone.
(Constanze Köhn)