Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Photo: Public Domain
For as long as there have been cities, there have been people desperate to escape them.
But it wasn’t always possible to escape the chaos of Vienna, especially when it was under siege. While Beethoven was writing his Fifth Piano Concerto, Napoleon’s armies were bombarding the city, and the composer’s lodgings were right in the middle of the battle. The noise often prevented him from concentrating on his music.
“The whole course of events has affected me, body and soul”, he said “Nor can I have the enjoyment of country life, so indispensable to me…what a disturbing, wildlife around me! Nothing but drums, cannons, men, and misery of all sorts!”
No-one knows exactly how the concerto came to be known as the ‘Emperor’. Beethoven certainly didn’t give it that title. He once said of Napoleon: “It is a pity I do not understand the art of war as well as I do the art of music. Then I would conquer him!”
It’s well known that Beethoven originally dedicated his Eroica Symphony to Napoleon, and then angrily tore off the dedication page when Bonaparte declared himself emperor. Interestingly, both the Third Symphony and the Fifth Piano Concerto are in the same ‘heroic’ key of E flat.
Even though he was only 39 and lived another 18 years, this was the last concerto that Beethoven wrote. It’s the culmination of his work in a form that places two forces: solo and orchestra, into dramatic opposition.
Recorded 8 July 2020, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Darryl Stack
