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Beethoven and more 2011 podcast #41: Melancholy march

October 15, 2011

Largely influenced by the conquests of Napoleon and the volatile political circumstances of his day, Beethoven's heroic funeral march in Symphony No. 7 has a martial - and autobiographical - flair.

https://p.dw.com/p/12sNu
Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo rehearses with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra on September 9, 2003. Foto: LEHTIKUVA / Markku Ulander (c) dpa
Sakari OramoImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A Major, op. 92: 2nd movement
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sakari Oramo
MP3 recorded on October 9, 2011 in the Beethoven Halle Bonn by Deutsche Welle (DW)

Beethoven's music can hardly be separated from politics; the composer was subtle, but politically contentious in his day - a time when Napoleon was rattling his saber across Europe.

The Seventh Symphony, completed in 1812, has a political nuance as well, particularly in the second movement, "with its interesting mixture of a funeral march and a symphonic development," Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo told Deutsche Welle.

"It's not as poignant as the funeral march in the Third Symphony, 'Eroica,' but it's more reflective. I think Beethoven sees himself as a hero who is being carried to his grave," explained Oramo.

The Allegretto, which has become particularly famous because of its melancholy march theme with a dotted rhythm, was requested as an encore at the symphony's premiere in Vienna in 1813.

Sakari Oramo made his conducting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he was playing as a violinist, when he stepped in at the last minute in 1993. The impromptu performance launched his international conducting career and he returned as the orchestra's musical director in 2003, a tenure he will complete in 2012.

Author: Kate Bowen
Editor: Rick Fulker

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