I once read, but unfortunately do not remember where, that Richard Strauss said, referring to the 3rd symphony, that the first movement is the most revolutionary piece of music ever written. How could I know for sure that Strauss really said that?
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The only reference from Strauss to the Eroica I know is in connection with 'Ein Heldenleben' where he says in rather sarcastic vain, due to the lack of Eroica performances he is composing Heldenleben "admittedly without a funeral march, but yet in Eb with lots of horns, which are always a yardstick of heroism."
Apparently it was a common belief in the 1890s that Beethoven had himself in mind as the hero rather than Napoleon!'Man know thyself' -
So it took the Eroica more years than some of its sisters to win public acceptance? Say more than the Fifth? I did not know that connection between B's symphony and Ein Heldenleben, let alone that it shared the same fundamental key. Does a tone poem begin and end in the same key?
How curious! In spite of the famous "composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand uomo." Perhaps he did have, after all.Apparently it was a common belief in the 1890s that Beethoven had himself in mind as the hero rather than Napoleon!Comment
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