Beethovens greatest overture.

[mrfixit]

I change my mind on this subject all the time, but at the moment its the Ruins of Athens. So short yet so brillant. It seems Beethovens uniqueness shines in all his music. Sadly i now think i have listened to all of Beethovens major orchestral works. There is very little let for me to discover now i imagine.

[Peter]

Well the ruins is certainly great fun, but I think a long way from being the greatest. Egmont, Coriolan, Leonore 3 and the Consecration of the house are my favourites.

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'Man know thyself'

[Andrea]

My vote is for the "Egmont" too.

[Sorrano]

Like MrFixit I change all the time on this, too. Mostly I look to either Egmont or Consecration of the House as my personal favorites. But they are all sooo good!

[Gurn Blanston]

Coriolanus
Egmont

The rest...


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Regards,
Gurn
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That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
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[AndrewMyers]

Egmont definitely. Followed by Leonore no 3 then Coriolan.
The first tone poems?

[Joy]

I know what you mean about changing your mind on these. Sometimes you're in the mood for Leonore then you have a taste for Coriolan. For me, however, I have to go with Egmont and the Consecration of the House. Both marvelous!!

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Geratlas]

EGMONT makes the greatest impact on me, but I have enjoyed very good relationships of marvel with every overture of his, and remain to do so. I may say, the one made for the Pest festival play in 1811, King Stefan, speaks most my language.

One 'overture' I have not yet heard is the one introducing his sole oratorio, Christ on the Mount of Olives. (This is an overture, right?). Doesn't it deserve the rank of those other mainstream overtures such as the Prometheus, Coriolan (very nice) and Ruins of Athens?

[melvyn]

Of the three Leonore overtures, everybody seems to prefer Leonore No.3. Personally, I like Leonore No.1 the best. It's not as grand as No.3, but I much prefer the themes in No.1.

I wonder how many people like No.3 the best simply because they wrongly assume that it was the last one to be written, and therefore must be the best.

Melvyn.

[Chris]

Well, it's hard to choose, but I'll be different and say Fidelio. It's hard to pin down why, but I remember it having the greatest effect on me the first time I heard it. It's still the one I listen to most frequently, I think.

[cosplusisin]

egmont, and then coriolan at a close second... i'm more for the minor stuff than the major stuff.

[mrfixit]

I like the Leonore overture no 2 better than the 3rd one. Am i the only one here who thinks so?

[Tony John Hearne]

Originally posted by mrfixit:
I like the Leonore overture no 2 better than the 3rd one. Am i the only one here who thinks so?

I am not sure that I have heard no 2 but I have a live recording of No 3 on CD from Toscanini and the NBC symphony, recorded on November 4th 1939 which fairly szzles with energy, emotion and precision. Considering the exact time that it was recorded it must have been a very special experience to be in the audience, even if this was in New York

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Love from London

[Joy]

I have a cassette taped from the radiofrom when they had a very interesting program. They performed all four of the Overtures right in a row and also discussed each one. I love to listen to them all as it gives you a very good idea of how Beethoven evolved each one and how each changed through the years. They're all really good!

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[lvbfanatic]

Consescecration of the House... sandwiched between op 123 (Missa Solemins) and op 125 (the 9th) it's an absolutely marvellous tribute to Handel's Royal Fireworks Music which definitely was the inspiritional source for the op 124.



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A Calm Sea and A Prosperous Voyage