Eroica • Collegium 1704

Beethoven’s heroic Third, regarded as the very first symphony of Romanticism, is famous for the circumstances of its original dedication to Napoleon. Beethoven crossed out the dedication after Napoleon declared himself Emperor and replaced it with a dedication to his patron, the music-loving Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian von Lobkowicz. At Jezeří Castle, a Lobkowicz family estate, the Eroica supposedly received its first non-public performance in a chamber arrangement. The Eroica was ahead of its time, and it radically prefigured the future developments of the symphonic genre. Pavel Vranický (Paul Wranitzky) worked closely with Beethoven and was an influential figure in Vienna’s musical life at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. He was a sought-after conductor and wrote more than 50 symphonies, many of which have programmatic designations. La Tempesta is named for the evocative depiction of a storm in the third movement.