Beethoven's Egmont music became highly popular soon after its 1810 premiere, making it difficult to imagine a performance of Goethe's play without it for many years.
Composition History
Goethe, the author of the play Egmont, originally conceived the work with musical elements, including Klärchen's songs, entr'actes, and a victory symphony.
Recording & Production
This recording of Beethoven's Egmont incidental music was made in 2007 in Vienna, following performances at the Salzburg Festival and Carinthian Summer, for which Tobias Moretti created a new text version.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven composed the incidental music for Goethe's play Egmont "purely out of love for the poet," as he stated in a letter to his publishers.
Compositional Technique
Beethoven's Egmont Overture, like his Coriolanus Overture, attempts to depict the entire drama's core within approximately eight minutes, using classical sonata-allegro form.
Performer Biography
The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, featured on this recording, is an internationally acclaimed orchestra known for its focus on late romantic and modern music, as well as rarely performed works.
Performer Biography
Bertrand de Billy, the conductor on this album, was appointed Music Director of the rebuilt Teatro Liceu in Barcelona in 1999 and shaped the traditional house with his musical groundwork.
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