The Overtures

Fidelio (Leonora no. 4) op. 72 b is the overture written for the 1814 representations.

The Ruins of Athens op. 113, the overture composed in 1811 for the inauguration of the German theatre of Pesth, having as source a literary work, Kotzebue’s Bela’s Flight, presents an episode from the life of Hungary’s king. The overture was performed in first audition on February 9th 1812. In order to render the specificity of that time, Beethoven used in the introduction antique Greek modes.

A triumphant page of this overture is the Turkish March rendering the closing and the furthering of a Turkish patrol. It is orchestrated in the spirit of janissary music with many percussion instruments and powerful sonorities for the wind instruments. It became known in the musical world especially due to the transcriptions of Franz Liszt and Anton Rubinstein.

Coriolanus op. 62 written in 1807 and constructed as an introduction to Collin’s tragedy (1802) was of great success and popularity. It is a composition with heroic character, rendering the story of a broken conscience.

Egmont op. 84 was composed in 1810 and is part of the stage music for the homonymous tragedy by Goethe. It is incontestably one of Beethoven’s greatest overtures. He began writing it with some restraint after receiving an order from the theatre. The overture has a programmatic role. It starts with a slow introduction– Sostenuto ma non troppo – where the first theme is presented as a contrast between two images. The first motive is rendered through a slow dance of Spanish origin associated with the image of the Spanish invaders,

and the second motive renders the image of the conquered people.

Onomastica op. 115 is Beethoven’s only overture that was not written for the theatre. The title was given by its author and was conceived for a certain solemnity, the work being “adaptable to any given circumstance and proper to performance in concerts.”

• Beethoven Symphonies - Each of the nine Beethoven symphonies analyzed.
• The piano sonatas - Analysis of the sonata form and the most important Beethoven Piano Sonatas.
• Sonatas for Cello and Piano - Discussion about Beethoven's five cello and piano sonatas.
• Sonatas for Violin and Piano - Overview of Beethoven's ten sonatas for violin and piano.
• String Quartets - Brief analysis of Beethoven's seventeen string quartets.
• The Opera "Fidelio" - The background, subject and influences of Beethoven's only opera.
• The Concertos - Beethoven's five piano concertos, his violin concerto and triple concerto analyzed.
• Trios - General discussion regarding Beethoven's trios for various instruments and ensembles.

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