Beethoven - SYMPHONY No. 3 in Eb Major - MVT 1

Beethoven - SYMPHONY No. 3 in Eb Major - MVT 1

SYMPHONY No. 3 in Eb Major ("Eroica"), Op. 55 – Movement 1 – Allegro con Brio
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Score 71 Pages 8 ½ x 14 (Legal)

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 3 Bb Clarinets, 1 Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 1 Soprano Sax, 1 Alto Sax with divisi, 1 Tenor Sax, 1 Baritone Sax, 2 BbTrumpets, 3 French Horns, 2 Trombones, 1 Euphonium BC, 1 Tuba, 1 String Bass, and Timpani

In the home key of c minor, this opening movement began the expansion of what a symphony was to be going forward. Expansive in its length with the appearance of new themes in the development section, Beethoven blew the lid off people’s expectations when this piece premiered. In fact, it was said the audience tired when they were forced to sit and listen longer.

The passing of melodic motifs from one instrument to another I believe influenced Mahler. Elegant but with force in the two beat feel of the hammer chords, Beethoven took you on a journey that simply flowed from beginning to end. The early entrance of the opening theme from the French Horn after the development has always been a neat twist.

In dealing with the double sixteenth note passages in the strings I found very little negative effect when the winds instead played eighth notes staccato. As with all the arrangements, tempo markings are suggested. I have listened to so many performances of this great work and have found tempo choices to vary wildly. Do what you think is best. It is hard to mess up Beethoven – He makes it pretty clear.

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Score Example:

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