Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 15 (or 16 or 17), 1770, in Bonn, a Rhine city dependent on the Electorate of Cologne, exactly two hundred and fifty years ago. He died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna. Even if he never met Napoleon, he is linked to him by his work, particularly the famous third symphony, called "Eroica", which should have been dedicated to "Bonaparte" before the composer changed his mind. Little known in France before the fall of the Empire, he only established himself there after the Congress of Vienna, which was his true hour of glory.
At the advent of Bonaparte, while he already enjoyed a strong reputation in Austria, Beethoven was only known and appreciated in France by a handful of initiates. Whatever the genre, the vogue is and remains for a long time for Haydn, Méhul, Cherubini, Gossec, Paisiello, Le Sueur, and Mozart (although his operas are corrected before being performed), but also for the almost forgotten Spontini, Catel, Berton, Boieldieu or Grétry. In major institutions and the press, we of course preferentially support French music but we are also starting to take into account the “Italian” tastes of the head of state. While Napoleon probably heard a little about Beethoven, it is doubtful that he ever heard one of his works.
A composer almost unknown in France
As the Rhineland composer has never performed in Paris, to know him, his scores must be available from music dealers. It was only at the beginning of the 1820s that their importation, particularly that of symphonies, became systematic. Until then, you can sporadically purchase a few compositions for piano and small ensembles.
The first mention of Beethoven in the specialized French press dates from January 14, 1799. Published in the Journal Typographie et Bibliographique, an announcement indicates, without further details, the publication of the score of "six trios", at the initiative of the composer Ignace Pleyel. Nine months later, this time for a wider audience, the Journal de Paris warned its readers that one could acquire for 1.50 F the score of a “sonata for four hands for the harpsichord or forté-piano, composed by Louis Vanbee-Thoven” (sic). For the entire Napoleonic period, around forty scores were marketed in France, a tiny part of the three or four hundred compositions then completed by Beethoven.
At that time, his symphonic music was almost ignored. Very expensive to produce and therefore reserved for the elite, this genre has nevertheless become more "popular" since the Revolution, thanks to the multiplication of public executions, sometimes given in parks in front of a large crowd. Created in 1799, the company "Concerts de la rue de Cléry", which offered this type of production, quickly became famous throughout Europe, while large theaters, such as the Odéon (Théâtre de l'Impératrice from of 1804) and the Opera, also try it from time to time with success. But Gossec, Haydn, Méhul, and Mozart remain the composers most awaited by a public whose ears are not yet ready for the shock of Beethoven's compositions.
However, a small breakthrough took place, thanks to the Imperial Conservatory of Music and Declamation (the cohabitation between the two artistic expressions continued until 1945). In 1800, the composer Bernard Sarrette took charge and set up the institution on the premises of the former Royal School of Singing, 11 rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière. For music, a prestigious teaching committee was formed, with Gossec, Mehul, Cherubini, and Catel as members. Among the fifty teachers (for four hundred students), we note the names of Kreutzer (violin), Paër (composition), Crescentini (singing), and Rode (piano). In the spring of 1806, Sarrette created a student orchestra and placed it under the direction of the violinist François-Antoine Habeneck (1781-1849): it was under his baton that Beethoven's symphonies were played for the first time in France, at the occasion of “public exercises” given by sixty to seventy young musicians.
On February 22, 1807, Habeneck conducted the first symphony, composed seven years earlier. He reproduced the experience every year until the fall of the Empire, for one or two Sunday afternoons devoted to exercises. The third symphony was thus given for the first time in France, on… May 5, 1811, ten years before another large-scale event. In addition to this “symphony of Mr. Bethowenn” (sic), Dussek, Catel, Méhul, and Gossec were performed that day. Habeneck is cautious with this novelty, which he frames with more consensual works.
He is well inspired by it. Remaining confined to a few hundred listeners – a new room with a thousand seats was only available in July 1811 – these executions indeed provoked some heated debates in the seraglio. Some consider it absurd that the Conservatoire adopts "the oddities" and the "masses of barbaric chords" of this "Tudesque harmony", while others, fewer in number, see it as the renewal of "Germanic genius" following " the immortal Haydn”. The general opinion is that all this is “barbaric, savage, delusional and unenforceable” (Théophile Gautier). As for the general public press, it especially tries to promote the French symphony, notably through Méhul, who composed six of them, two of which were unfinished. She is hardly concerned about Beethoven's appearance, other than to point out that he is in the program for students at the Conservatory without following up the announcement with any report in the following days. The maestro is undoubtedly disappointed because he loved France and its Revolution.
Beethoven, the Revolution and Bonaparte
Based in Vienna, then the European capital of music, since 1792, Beethoven has since led a dazzling career as a performer and composer. It is popular in the salons of the aristocracy and important personalities give it their financial support. His art, completely recognized here, his virtuosity on the piano, and some well-calculated dedications for his most beautiful compositions make us forget his bad character and his freedom of spirit. However, we should not make much of its temporary attraction to the French Revolution. He called these few years his "revolutionary fever"... which he prudently reserved for his private correspondence.
However, he was seen a lot at the French embassy after the peace of Campoformio, performing some piano performances for Bernadotte. But make no mistake: he still favored the service of the Habsburg monarchy, musically supporting Austria's war effort by composing marches and cantatas on demand. Throughout his life, he was an ardent “German” patriot, which should be understood here as a supporter of the domination of Habsburg-Lorraine over Germanic space. By necessity, he is also an exceptional hunter for patrons (he finds many) and positions (he has only ever had temporary and subordinate ones). You can only achieve success in these areas by not being too politically noticed.
Nevertheless, after having followed Bonaparte from afar during the Italian campaign, he was delighted with his accession to power. He sees in him the providential man who will succeed in taming the Revolution. But his correspondence indicates that after having had high hopes in him, he was very disappointed by the signing of the Concordat... but without going as far as a rupture which, in this case, can only be moral and at a distance. We must believe that he recovered from his disappointment since he tried to attract the attention of Bonaparte, perhaps to obtain important functions in Paris that he did not obtain in Vienna.
First step, at the end of 1802, completing the composition of the Sonata for piano and violin No. 9, he changed the dedication: first dedicated to the English violinist Georges Bridgetower, it was to the Frenchman Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831), encountered at Bernadotte's house and which the composer knows is very prominent in consular France. At the same time, he announced to his friends that he was undertaking, on the one hand, the writing of an opera "on an old French libretto" (Fidelio) and, on the other hand, a symphony, this time dedicated to Bonaparte.
Begun in 1802, completed in May 1804, and performed as a preview in the property of one of his protectors, Prince of Lobkowitz, this third symphony was created in public in April 1805 at the Theater An der Wien, under the direction of the maestro in person. It was published at the end of 1806, with a dedication to the prince-patron, under the title Sinfonia Grande – Eroica – per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand Uomo (“Great Symphony – Heroic – to celebrate the memory of a great Man”). ). Bonaparte has disappeared from the dedication and the title.
“The Affair” of the Heroic
Originally, however, as announced, the First Consul is indeed mentioned. We have a manuscript in Beethoven's hand, dated September 26, 1804 (after the composition was completed), bearing the title: Sinfonia Grande-Bonaparte. The fact is confirmed by the Memoirs of Ferdinand Ries, his student, who sees the drafts of the work with this mention. The same tells how his master changes his mind, an anecdote repeated a hundred times since. Learning that Bonaparte had been proclaimed emperor and was considering being crowned, he reportedly exclaimed: “So he is nothing more than an ordinary man! » He would then have torn up the draft of the title page and started another one, with the mention of Sinfonia Eroica. The facts, reported in the same terms by other witnesses, seem established. They are considered authentic by the great biographers of Beethoven. The proclamation of the Empire and the idea of the Coronation indeed provoked the rupture... which neither Napoleon nor anyone in France knew at the time, without which the performance of 1811 would probably never have taken place.
As for the “Great Man” whose memory the third symphony celebrates, it is not certain that it is Napoleon, as is usually said. In an in-depth study dating from 1998, the Austrian historian Walther Brauneis credibly argued that the final dedication, the one which appears on the score printed at the end of 1806, was aimed at Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia, killed by a French hussar in Saalfeld, the previous October 10. Beethoven had met him several times in Vienna and the prince had shown great interest in him. The composer is, what is more, in his period of hatred of Napoleon. He confided to a relative, during the Prussian campaign: “What a shame that I don’t know anything about strategy or music! Otherwise, I would beat him.”
However, he tries to “reconcile” himself with this enemy. In 1809, during the second occupation of Vienna, he confided to one of his French friends, the auditor at the Council of State Trémont, that he would not refuse to be summoned by the Emperor who was staying at the Hofburg or Schönbrunn. He does not obtain the dream audience, despite – it seems – an intervention by Cherubini. Neither in 1805 nor in 1809 did the Emperor wish to meet Haydn, even though he had great admiration for him: he therefore undoubtedly did not have the time to receive this musician.
Triumph at the Congress of Vienna
Beethoven would never work for Napoleon, as he probably hoped. However, he could have moved into the service of a Bonaparte when Jérôme de Westphalia offered him to become his chapel master, with a substantial salary. Tempted for a moment, the composer finally refused the proposal. Cassel is not worth Paris. The episode, however, has a beneficial outcome for it. Worried about seeing him succumb to the song of the Westphalian sirens, his patrons, Archduke Rudolf (brother of Emperor Francis), Princes Kinsky and Lobkowitz provided him with a nice annual income so that he could stay in Vienna. It is there that he continues the construction of his work.
At the fall of the Empire, Beethoven was forty-five years old. He is considered one of the great German patriotic artists. He had just composed a symphony in two movements entitled Battle Symphony on Wellington's victory at Vittoria (December 1813) and a work for choir and orchestra, The Renaissance of Germany, performed on April 11, 1814, in Vienna, to celebrate the capture of Paris. He conducted his symphonies during the return ceremonies of François I and Metternich, then for the arrival in the Austrian capital of Frederick William of Prussia and Alexander of Russia coming to participate in the Congress which was to refound Europe after twenty-three years of uninterrupted wars.
During the nine months that the event lasted, Beethoven was in the oven and at the mill. We could say that the Congress of Vienna lives in its rhythms, new and unusual for many contemporaries. To begin with, he presents the definitive version of his Fidelio (the first version, in 1805, was a four-piece). On November 24, 1814, he created Le Glorieux moment, a patriotic cantata for four voices, choirs, and orchestra, whose text by Aloys Weissenbach (his surgeon!) is nothing but praise for the peacemakers, the entire program contained in the first sentence: “Europe is standing! »
To thank him, the municipality named him an honorary citizen of the city of Vienna. Five days later, he conducted his seventh symphony in the Salle des Redoutes, in front of around 6,000 spectators. The concert was continued by the Wellington Victory. For the occasion, Antonio Salieri conducted the cannonade, Hummel the percussion, and Meyerbeer (then aged 15) the machine to produce the sound of thunder. And finally, we brought back The Glorious Moment. Beethoven performed again on December 25 at the Hofburg for a Christmas concert. On January 1, a thousand instrumentalists were under his baton for another grandiose symphonic performance, still at the Redoutes. The following January 25, following a piano concert in front of the sovereigns, the Tsar and Tsarina Elizabeth (whose birthday it was) were so kind and generous that the master composed a Polonaise for piano (op. 89) dedicated to the empress. He later presented his Chant élégiaque for voice and string quartet and his 27th piano sonata. Every day he received gifts, in kind and cash, tributes, and requests for visits. He also collected certain revenues from his concerts, a sort of privilege granted to him by his emperor.
His friend and biographer Anton Schindler considered the Congress to be Ludwig van Beethoven’s “wonderful year.” The paradox is that it was that of the deconstruction of the work of Napoleon Bonaparte whom the composer had adored then hated and finally sought because he perhaps saw in him "the man of destiny". The listener Trémont met above, wrote: “The greatness of Napoleon occupied him a lot and he often spoke to me about it. Amid his bad mood, I saw that he admired his elevation.” In 1821, moreover, learning of the death of the Emperor on Saint Helena, he remembered that, even dedicated to Louis of Prussia, it was with Napoleon in mind that he had composed L'Héroique. Speaking of the funeral march in the second movement, he confided to a friend: “It has been seventeen years since I wrote the music appropriate to this sad event.”
The dedication
Learning of the proclamation of the Empire, Beethoven tore up the title page that he had prepared... So how can we explain that a score of L'Héroique is kept in the Archives of the Vienna Philharmonic Society where the name of Bonaparte has been angrily crossed out until you make a hole in the paper? It appears that it is a contemporary copy, which is not in the composer's handwriting but which we can assume was intended to be sent... to Napoleon. This copy was kept by Beethoven who used it to make later corrections. As for the erasure, specialists think that it is much later and not of his making. In short: the copy is true and the erasure is (probably) false.
Napoleon and music
All the testimonies agree: Napoleon sings out of tune. It has sometimes been deduced that he does not have a musical ear and that he is disinterested in this art, which he nevertheless considers in one of his youthful writings that it "consoles, rejoices, pleasantly shakes" (Discourse of Lyon, 1791). We will add that only the composer André Grétry is entitled to some considerations in the Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène and the other testimonies of exile. Napoleon, however, did a lot for music, particularly lyrical art. In addition to attending numerous opera performances and even instrumental concerts, he has a real policy in this area, organizing institutions, providing financial means, stimulating artists, and welcoming foreign composers – especially Italian – to Paris. for he is very fond of their labors – commissioning works, and maintaining several musical institutions within his House. Many musicians entered the Legion of Honor such as Paisiello (composer of the Coronation Mass), Gossec (whose career took place before the Empire), Méhul (his opera Joseph enjoyed international success), Grétry (a true idol in his time). The Viennese Salieri, the Munich Winter, the Roman Zingarelli, and the Neapolitan Paisiello (after he left Paris in 1804, disappointed with the failure of his opera Proserpine) are foreign correspondents of the Institute and Josef Haydn is a member of 'honor. The latter has an immense aura, throughout Europe and in France. Napoleon was also a great fan of it. It was for example while attending the Paris premiere of his oratorio La Création that he was targeted by the attack on the “infernal machine” on rue Saint-Nicaise (December 25, 1800) and it was his masses which accompanied numerous celebrations at the Tuileries. Napoleon did not meet him, although he lived in Vienna during the two French occupations. Knowing he was ill, he nevertheless had his house guarded by an honorary detachment of the Imperial Guard in 1809, so that he would not be disturbed. His funeral, on June 15, 1809, appeared as a sort of transfer of reputation since Mozart's Requiem was played there in the presence of numerous French generals and officers.
Musical elites
At that time, the only way to hear music at home was to play it or to bring in musicians. After instruments such as the violin (which of course the painter Ingres plays, but also the marshals Gouvion Saint-Cyr and Bernadotte) or the flute, the piano (which allows harmonies to be produced individually) confirms its entry into the court and the interiors of notables: the factor Sébastien Érard sold enormous quantities which he produced in two Parisian factories, an example followed from 1809 by Ignace Pleyel. “Family” music is very widespread: it is not uncommon for children to surround their parents during small concerts for friends, like those organized by Joséphine in Malmaison. We then perform songs whose scores are sold individually or on occasional pieces to celebrate the successes of the regime. The only Daniel Gottlieb Steibelt (1765-1823), also a composer of operas, ballets, and concertos, created several on the occasion of Marengo or Austerlitz. Today well forgotten, it is often performed in families. He ended his life as master of the chapel of the Emperor of Russia and was long considered a rival of Beethoven, whose star was beginning to rise. The notables are also composed. Queen Hortense is in this area the “musician” of the imperial family. A bourgeois evening cannot be imagined without beautiful notes produced by musicians or the daughter of the house singing some fashionable song. The Emperor's sisters sometimes set an example, followed by the courtesans, such as Mmes Ney, Junot, and Rémusat. Men do not hesitate to push romance or war songs either, such as Eugène de Beauharnais, Charles de Flahaut, or General Junot.
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