I chose Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 OP. 55 in E flat Major “Eroica” (complete/full) conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann on January 24, 2014 in Espoo Kulturcentrum, Finland. The Espoo Cultural Centre is a culture centre in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. The cultural centre houses the Espoo musical academy, the city orchestra Tapiola Sinfonietta. It holds773 seats at Tapiola Hall. It is most famous for hosting the central library of Tapiola. The video is recorded by Tord Martinsson from Powerec Studio and posted on YouTube on May 9, 2014. The stage the orchestra is on appears to be made to give their audience the best sound quality.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 OP 55 in E flat Major “Eroica” was originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolution. He withdrew this after Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of the French and rededicated this piece to Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz. The work is a classical style composition. Beethoven’s No. 3 is the transition between the Classical period and the Romantic era. Symphony No. 3 is scored to have two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B-flat, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings.
The Tapiola Sinfonietta is a city orchestra of Espoo, Finland. The orchestra consists of 41 members including twenty-seven strings, with double woodwind and a minimum of two horns. Their venue is Tapiola Hall. Tapiola Sinfonietta records and tours regularly and has currently more than 60 titles. They were established in 1988.The orchestra in this video is a small size about the size of a chamber orchestra. The orchestra may seem small, but their music is powerful.
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The video starts out with the orchestra already sitting in the appropriate seats and then the conductor comes out and they clap until she is on the conductor’s block. Then Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 OP 55 in E-Flat Major “Eroica” begins its first movement. There are four movements. The first movement is Allegro Con Brio and ends about (31:29) in video. The huge first movement describes Napolean’s heroic struggles. The first movement is fast and lively. The movement is in sonata form in ¾ time (normally associated with dance). The movement opens with two fortissimo large E-flat major chords, played by the whole orchestra, that established the tonality. The first movement frequently places accents every two beats even though the music is notated three beats to a measure. The movement uses extended Development and Coda sections. Beethoven exploits full dynamic range of orchestra with contrasting sections for dramatic effect. The music evolves organically. Fresh theme in the middle of Development section.
The exposition follows with the cellos playing the first theme. Here are many key changes but back to home key by end. An unexpected chromatic note (C #) is introduced revealing a harmonic tension. The melody is finished by the first violins, with a syncopated series of Gs, forming a tritone of C # of the cellos. The first theme is played again by various instruments.
The modulation to the dominant key of B-flat appears early. This is followed by a lyrical downward motif, an upward scale motif and then a section in rapid downward with violins. A second theme appears late leading to a second half of theme building to a loud melody drawing on the earlier downward motif. The climactic moment arrives when the music is interrupted by six consecutive sforzando chords. Main theme returns in a brief codetta. The second theme begins with downward motif.
The development section is filled with harmonic and rhythmic tension from dissant chords and long syncopated rhythm. The counterpoint appears and breaks into a 32-bar passage of sforzando chords with both 2-beat and 3-beat downward pattern. There seems to be loud dissonant forte chords. A new theme in E minor is introduced. At the end, one horn appears to be early in main theme in E-flat while strings continue to play. The movement concludes in a long coda.
The second movement is Marcia funebre. Adagio assai. This movement is played slowly. The opening is in C minor in the strings then in winds. Principle theme is in rondo form. Second in major E-flat returns to minor tonality. B-section is in C major. There is a da capo back to the A theme. First theme is in C minor and leads to a fugue in F minor. The first theme returns in G minor. This is played by the strings. Then first theme in original key can be heard by the oboes. The coda begins with a marching motif by strings and eventually concludes with soft main theme. This movement is a funeral march measured solemnity, pushed forward by the low rumble of the basses, like the sound of muffled drums. The piece displays a great emotional range. This movement was played at the funeral of the German composer Felix Mendelssohn and Erwin Rommel. It was also played to mourn the death of U.S. President Frankin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. There is a part in the video around (24:09) that sounds like the strings making the sounds of someone singing that takes us, the audience by surprise.
The third movement is Scherzo.Allegro vivace-Trio. The third movement is in a quick ¾ time. It is played very fast. It is hard to tell if movement is in duple or triple time. The A theme seems pianissimo in Key of B-flat then piano in key of F which is when the B part of outer scherzo is heard. Then a restart in B-flat and the A theme is heard again. A full fortissimo in tonic key of E-flat. Then a downward arpeggio motif with sforzandos on the second beat is played twice in unison, first by strings then by full orchestra. Afterwards a syncopated motif with descending (I believe) fourths or quarters and back to repeat.
The so-called trio section is made of three horns. The scherzo is repeated in short form. The downward unison motif is changed to duple time. Movement ends with a coda which goes from pianissimo to fortissimo.
The fourth movement is the Finale. Allegro molto-Poco An- dante- Presto. It is a set of ten variations on a theme. Beethoven’s finale begins with a simple unattached bass line before introducing theme itself. There are variety and range of style: a fugue on the bass line, a virtuoso piece for the flute, a swinging dance in G minor, and an expansive hymn. The music begins with the tutti with the mediant chord going into the quiet theme in E-flat major. In music, the mediant is the third scale degree of a diatonic scale, the note being halfway between the tonic and the dominant.
The first variation repeats the theme with strings played with bow while a new accompaniment is introduced (E-flat major). The second variation contains a new triplet accompaniment (E-flat major). The third variation is where a new melody is introduced while theme still played on bass (E-flat major). The fourth is in C minor, a fugue that begins quietly on strings and builds to climax. The fifth variation is in D major. The bass instruments play the first half in minor mode and transcends to the major. It includes two solo passages for flute which accompany the melodic line. The sixth variation seems filled with rage. It is played in G minor. The seventh variation is in C major and seems to repeat first half theme and then switches back to the minor mode.
The eighth variations is another fugue. This one is energetic. It is in the tonic (E-flat major). It builds up to climax again. A more developed theme appears. Variation nine has the tempo slowed down to Poco Andante. The theme played by an oboe then strings. Then another triplet is heard in higher strings while melodies played by woodwinds, are made of syncopated 16th and 8th notes (E-flat major). The tenth variation is the final variation. The tutti with the triplet accompiant makes heroic plunges and same melody as in third is heard with energy with the brass (E-flat major). This is when a full image of the music can be heard and visualized.
The symphony ends with a coda. A surprise awaits at the end when the dynamic changes from the pp on the flute and strings to ff out of nowhere and with no warning with the entire orchestra as tempo changes from Poco Andante to Presto. Sforzandos appear in the finale with three large E-flat major chords on the tutti marked ff. This is followed by ending traditions until audience is gone.
The traditions of orchestra concerts include the concertmaster is first on stage after the orchestra is seated. The concertmaster is the lead first violinist who is greeted with applause. The concert master is responsible for tuning the orchestra. Next to enter is the conductor (sometimes with tonight’s soloist on stage). This is where the video I watched started is with the conductor coming out on stage and greeted with applause. Once the conductor has acknowledged the audience by bowing, she (in this case) turns towards the orchestra and it’s time to begin. Silence by the audience is to ensure everyone can enjoy the concert. This means no talking, humming, tapping, or turning program pages.
All mobile devices should be off and remain off and put away during the performance. The tradition of when to applaud is to clap at the end of entire piece, no matter how many individual movements there may be. The purpose of waiting is to allow the orchestra to present the piece without interruptions and help maintain the unity and beauty of composition. Today it has become more common to applaud for individual movements.
Either way, one should wait for conductor to face audience. The conductor will allow time for the orchestra to have their own applause and even receive roses or flowers if one deems it to show how good they were. You should always arrive at least 30 minutes early because the concert is going to start promptly on time. Sometimes you can attend a pre-concert conversation held by that night’s conductor. If you must be late then wait for a pause in the performance. Most programs have a twenty-minute intermission for two-hour concerts. Most younger kids do not have the patience for a whole concert so keep this in mind when planning.
The video does not really show the audience, but Symphony patrons should generally wear semiformal or business attire. On certain occasions, such as an opening night, formal attire might be requested. I would recommend not wearing jeans to either of these if possible. The conductor in this video is traditionally only allowed to wear black and white but she has colored sleeves (pink and blue) that may only be shown to the orchestra. This shows her youth and energy which could also be seen from the arm swings and movement from her.
I must admit that I like listening to classical music but just for fun and can get bored easily if the flow is not going a certain way. The music along with the video keeps me entertained during the entire performance. The music kept adding surprises along the way like the French horns being early for this kind of music. The meters kept switching from duple and triple time. The sound is so smooth and blends so well with no jagged edges to stall or interrupt the entertainment. The music could have been one I was listening to in my headphones. It was that good and I enjoyed it. I really liked seeing Nathalie Stutzmann get into her work which we, the audience and viewers could tell she was taking delight in. Thank you for allowing me to be introduced to this group. I think I want to watch more of them now.
