Not many composers are suited to the theme running through this orchestral series, namely the link between music and society, as well as Ludwig van Beethoven. The composer, whose 250th birthday is celebrated this year, was keenly interested in public affairs and incorporated his personal thoughts about these into several of his works. For example, when he wrote the Symphony No. 3 in E flat major he was excited about Napoleon Bonaparte’s ideas. However, when this politician declared himself Emperor, the outraged composer scratched out the dedication to Bonaparte on the manuscript, and the piece is today known as ‘Eroica’. The Symphony is a politically inspired piece par excellence and its E flat Major key is, thanks to this composition, described as ‘a heroic key’. Equally interesting is the history of the Egmont Overture. Beethoven wrote it as incidental music for Goethe’s tragedy of the same name about a hero from the Low Countries who fought for freedom. For its powerful impact, the Overture music became an unofficial anthem of the bloody Hungarian revolution in the 1950s. Inset between the two Beethoven works will be the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 by Bohuslav Martinů, performed by the brilliant Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer Olli Mustonen.  

More about A1 Beethoven. Martinů Event www