Watch & Listen

Discover Beethoven’s heroic Symphony No. 3, a revolutionary work that changed the course of music history. Carlos and St. John explore the score and its political background, shedding light on Beethoven’s ambivalent feelings toward Napoleon, a would-be hero turned tyrant.

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Contact Us: onthemusic@houstonsymphony.org

Creative Credits

Carlos Botero, Host

St. John Flynn, Host (Houston Public Media)

Mark DiClaudio, Audio Production and Editing (Houston Public Media)

Todd Hulslander, Technical Supervision (Houston Public Media)

Brad Sayles, Houston Symphony Broadcast Recording Engineer (Houston Public Media)

Calvin Dotsey, Executive Producer

Music Credits

Most orchestral excepts featured in On the Music are taken from archival Houston Symphony recordings. We also supplement these with commercially available recordings to ensure that we respect the rights of our musicians and to fill in gaps in our archives. Credits are listed by order of first appearance. The Houston Symphony Broadcast Recording Engineer is Brad Sayles of Houston Public Media.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Eroica (movement 1) – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (movements 2-4) – Bavarian Radio Symphony. Cond. Mariss Jansons. BEETHOVEN, L. Van: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 / Reflections (Bavarian Radio Symphony, Jansons). 2013. MP3.

Bach: Goldberg Variations – Jando, Jeno, piano. BACH, J.S.: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.

Mozart: Masonic Funeral Music – Kassel Spohr Chamber Orchestra. Cond. Roberto Paternostro. MOZART, W.A.: Masonic Music (Complete) (Heo Young-Hoon, Kassel Spohr Chamber Orchestra, Paternostro).

Beethoven: “Eroica” Variations – Jando, Jeno, piano. BEETHOVEN: ‘Eroica’ Variations / 32 Variations, WoO 80.

Sound Effects Credits

Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org. Credits are listed by order of first appearance.

Angry Mob – angry mob loop.aiff by benjaminharveydesign.

Guillotine 1 – guillotine2.wav by smidoid.

Guillotine 2 – Short Chop.aif by amsempl.

Marching – Marching.wav by WebbFilmsUK.

Tinnitus Effect – tinnitus.mp3 by Sclolex.

Pages of a Book – Turning pages.wav by bdunis4.

War Sounds – Vanhan ajan sota, taistelu / Ancient, old time battle, combat, horses galloping, men shouting and barking, fencing, swords clanging, guns, cannons, shots, mix by YleArkisto.

Horse Hooves – Innenstadt_4b_Pferde.wav by OSH37.

Footsteps – WoodenFloorFootsteps_Boots_02.wav by Lex777.

Paper tearing – TearingPaper.wav by mikaelfernstrom.

Paper crumpling – Paper Crumple by empraetorius.

Sources/Recommended Reading

Berlioz, Hector. “Berlioz: Essay on Beethoven’s Symphonies.” Berlioz: Essay on Beethoven’s Symphonies. Michel Austin, 18 July 1997. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.

Grove, George. Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies.

Hopkins, Antony. The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven. London: Heinemann, 1981. Print.

Lockwood, Lewis. Beethoven: The Music and the Life. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.

Sipe, Thomas. Beethoven, Eroica Symphony. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.

Solomon, Maynard. Beethoven. New York: Schirmer Trade, 1998. Print.

Swafford, Jan. Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph ; a Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. Print.

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