It seems extraordinary to me, not that Beethoven tore up the dedication of the Eroica to Bonaparte, but that he ever considered dedicating it to him in the first place. 4 years earlier in 1800, Napoleon had been made first consul, in effect total dictator, so the additional title of Emperor seems rather academic. Here was a man who had waged war all over Europe in a quite ruthless manner, against Austria, Germany and England - a country Beethoven was known to admire. Even as late as 1810 he was contemplating dedicating the mass in C to Napoleon. I think Beethoven's idealistic belief in the French Revolution must have blinded him to the reality of a man who was actually trouncing the very principles of freedom and equality. Not until 1813 does he seem to have really seen the light with Wellingtons sieg. I should have thought that a more fitting dedicatee of the Eroica would have been Nelson.
------------------
'Man know thyself'
------------------
'Man know thyself'
Comment