Yorksher march

[Arnault]

Hello everybody.

I'm new to the list, I'm a baritone player and I double on tbone living in Italy. I wonder if someone can tell more about the march in the subject (who, where, why, when, what). I've tried on the net, I've search in my music history, but I've found little about it. Can you help me? Thanks.

[Andrea]

Here is a little information on Beethoven's "March for Miltary Music, "Yorck March", in F major, WoO 18" (quoted from Hans-Günter Klein):

"Beethoven wrote all of his marches for miltary band - with the exception of the large-scale WoO 24 - in 1809, 1810. His intentions regarding them are on record only in the case of the two catalogued as WoO 18 and 19, the autographs of which bear a dedication to Archduke Anton of Austria who, as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, was also Colonel-in-Chief of the order's regiment. Then Beethoven decided to give them to the Bohemian militia instead and, at the request of his pupil and patron Archduke Rudolph, made the scores available for a cavalry parade due to be held in honour of the Empress Maris Ludovica at Laxenburg Castle on 24 Aug. 1810. He sent the pieces to the Archduke with a whimiscal covering letter:"I can see Your Imperial Highness wishes to discover what effect my music has on horses. So be it, I shall find out if it helps the riders to make spectacular somersaults...The equine opus, as requested, shall reach Your Imperial Highness at the swiftest gallop." When they were first published, the first of the two marches was named after the Prussian Field-Marshal Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, but it is improbable that Beethoven had any thing to do with that."

[lysander]

With regards to the 'Yorck March' I believe that Beethoven had in mind and dedicated the
piece to Field Marshall Johan David Graf YORCK von Wartenburg.
FM Yorck, seems to have had an interesting
military career. He started off as a
commander of Prussian forces that was held in client status by Napoleon.
Following Prussian defeat and the humiliating imposed terms of the treaty of
Tilsit of 1807. Subsequently, FM York von Warterburg withdrew on his responsibility the Prussian forces assisting Napoleon in the invasion of Russia and concluded his own peace treaty with the Russians.
He became a National Hero to the Prussians, freeing them from their bondage to the French. He became a symbol of National Liberty, independence and self determination, and it is easy to see why Beethoven was attracted to this charasmatic figure.
The curious thing is that this very Germanic figure has a part English name, I have not been able to trace any English antecedents, but David and Yorck are both
ancient English names.

[Andrea]

Johann David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg
(1759-1830) was a Prussian count and field marshal who was born of English ancestry. His birth name was Johann David Ludwig Yorck (also spelled York) and later he became the Graf von Wartenburg.

As for the name "David", it is a 2-syllable boy's name of Hebrew origin, meaning Beloved One. Also David's ethnic backgrounds include Scottish, Swedish, Hebrew, English/Welsh and German.