Reacting to the Egmont Overture | Beethoven

Hello! I'm an American on a quest to learn more about history, geography and the universe in general. In this video I listen to conductor Gianmaria Griglio breakdown Beethoven's famous score, explain some of the history behind it, and point out the various methods Beethoven used to express his story. Then I watch a live performance by
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted by Kurt Masur. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe!

00:00 - Intro
04:44 - Score Analysis
15:00 - Live Performance from Leipzig
25:51 - Outro

Link to original videos:

Follow me on social media:

If you want to send any snail mail:
SoGal
P.O. Box 34913
Memphis, TN 38184
USA

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

#Beethoven #ClassicalMusic #MusicReaction

[SoGal_YT]

Thanks for watching! Like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video 👍🏻 Follow me on social media and join my Discord:

[petersmith]

Beethoven was originally a fan of Napoleon and Bernadotte suggested that he should dedicate a symphony to Napoleon. Beethoven wrote his Third Symphony, "The Eroica" and wrote a dedication to Napoleon. But Napoleon made himself Emperor and Beethoven, thinking that Napoleon had betrayed the ethos of the French Revolution, tore the dedication off the symphony.

[peterketel]

Leipzig is a large town in East Germany, and this work from Beethoven was played in (if I am not mistaken) the St. Nicholas Church (German: Nikolaikirche).

[LightxHeaven]

"In France, the title of Marshal or Maréchal goes back to at least the 13th century...."

[markthomas]

I think if you could only ever listen to one classical composer for the rest of your life you should choose Beethoven !

[ftumschk]

The Leipzig Gewandhaus [approx "geh-VAND-house"] Orchestra is one of the oldest in Europe, dating to the 18th Century, and Mendelssohn was once its principal conductor. Many distinguished conductors followed in his wake, including Kurt Masur, who we saw here. He had a long association with the Gewandhaus until his death in 2015, and was its principal conductor from the 1970s to the late 90s; he went on to be principal conductor of the New York and London Philharmonic Orchestras (among others).

Loved your reaction as ever :)

[BlameThande]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who wrote the opera "Egmont" that Beethoven did this piece for, is also worth you looking into. He is probably Germany's biggest literary name and some compare him to Shakespeare. Another of his works was the poem "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", which a French composer later put music to...and that's where Disney's Fantasia comes from. (Fun fact - when Walt Disney was creating Fantasia, he needed some audio equipment and went to two guys in a garage in California called Hewlett and Packard...that first order was largely responsible for their new company being a success. So Goethe indirectly created HP computers!)

[johngkeegan]

Loved your approach to the music. Analysis, history, and very little interruption throughout. Well done. FYI, An Overture is a piece of music for the orchestra to play at the beginning of an opera or ballet. The word comes from the French word for "opening" because it "opens" the show. Overtures usually have tunes which are going to be heard during the opera or ballet. In this way it prepares the audience for what is to come.

[martincook]

I played this at school. 40 years later someone tells me the story!

[steved]

Might have to listen to the intro again !! ... good vid

[cdiegorodriguez]

The Eroica, I think, is the most concentrated outpouring of creative genius in history.

[alansmithee]

15:30 Not Berlin wall but almost right. Leipzig was in East Germany and according to DW there were 70000 protesters on the streets in this city on that date that made the regime realise they were losing control. I had been in West Germany a few years before and this seemed impossible back then.
If you Google the date you will see.
The church would be significant as religion was discouraged in the East under communism. I imagine they also felt occupied like German states under Napoleon and the Dutch under Spanish Netherlands.

[RenaissanceEarCandy]

Sogal out of context: "Beheading? Which is my favourite thing, you know..."

[markwilliamson]

By the time Napoleon was exiled to Elba Beethoven was identifying with liberty and Germanic patriotism, he professed himself to be on the side of the allies, going on to write a short orchestral work in celebration of Wellington’s victory at the Battle of Vitoria.

[cjgm]

About the "Eroica"; it is said that when Beethoven redesignated
the symphony he uttered: "In remembrance of a hope that were not fulfilled",
i.e. the hopes he had for the new European order that revolutionary
France would bring to bear, though extinguished by Napoleon
crowning himself emperor in 1804.

[zaftra]

We use to play this when I was a kid, I was on horn in F, loved ripping those high G's out.

[fraso]

It's great, that you are doing a little bit of theory before. It helps me, too. I prefer hearing the piece before and after the theory. But, of course, I can hear it before the video. I think for modern people it's difficult, to understand the music of that period, when it's not explained (or analyzed by the hearer himself). But to feel it's effect, it's good to hear it first. Furthermore it's the way we did it in school. Some things stick for lifetime. And since we all can here it before watching your video, you are doing it the right way, I think.

[fraso]

Beethoven did also 'Wellingtons Victory' on Wellingtons Victory at Vittoria. Since there are several military signals and contemporary well known music is included, it's very interesting. It was first played two month after the battle of Leipzig in Vienna and was a great success: The musicians hat to repeat it two times.

[thebones]

Beethoven drew me here but I've subscribed because I love you! How about doing some modern classical, like Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' or jazz, 'So What ' by Miles Davis for example.

[fraso]

Goethe is pronounced in another way. There is no th like in the english language within the german one. It was lost there in the 9th century. So the 'th' is spoken as a simple t in English. The 'h' after 't' is just very old orthography, which is only found in names and very few words like 'Thron' today. The 'e' at the end is spoken like the 'e' in 'Wellington'. The 'oe' is spoken like the vowel in the french words 'feu' or 'oeuvre'. Try to speak the 'e' in 'bed' with closely rounded lips. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the most famous german poet. His most famous writings are 'Faust' and 'Die Leiden des jungen Werthers'. He also did science and acted as politician. If you only have time to learn about 4 german authors or poets, this should be Goethe, Friedrich von Schiller, Heinrich Heine and Thomas Mann. In his days Goethe was so famous, that even Napoleon came to visit him.