Overture to Egmont, op. 84 LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) The plot of Egmont, a play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), takes place in the Netherlands under Spanish rule. The protagonist, Egmont, a Flemish nobleman, sacrifices himself in the cause of liberty: his execution provokes the rebellion of his people against their oppressors. In 1809, the Vienna Court Theatre asked Beethoven to write incidental music for this play. Not only did Beethoven admire Goethe, but the ideas brought forth in the play, such as striving for liberty and scorning dictatorship, were extremely meaningful to him. Thus, in the fall of 1809, he enthusiastically began writing the music. The work was premiered in the summer of 1810. It is not surprising that the entire work is seldom performed, as the music was written specifically as incidental music for the play. Nonetheless, the overture, a work in its own right, has become a staple of symphonic repertoire. Even though symbolic meaning can be attributed to the music, this work is not programme music per se, but a musical introduction, evoking the play's atmosphere. The overture can be divided into three parts: it opens with an introduction in restrained tempo, from which the middle part is derived ca. 9 mins. - a stormy and tense Allegro. A true drama is created in the development of the various themes in this section, at the end of which it seems as if one theme is trying to take over the other. After a number of quiet woodwind chords, the coda emerges and erupts, with enthusiasm that does not subside until the end of the overture, in which the whistling of the piccolo resounds. The coda is played once again at the end of the incidental music to the play, when Egmont marches to his death, under the title Symphony of Victory, symbolizing the rebellious spirit of the hero. Eran Lupu
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