Continuing their exploration of Beethoven’s symphonies, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles give us an opportunity to rediscover the Eroica in all its modernity and power. Thanks to the magic of period timbres, Beethoven’s intended instrumental balances and effects are restored in revelatory fashion. The overture to Méhul’s opera Les Amazones, written eight years later, will be a discovery for many listeners. This time it was a French composer who established a further milestone in the new aesthetic of Romanticism.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN [1770-1827]Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’ Op. 55 E-flat major / Mi bémol majeur / Es-Dur I. Allegro con brio”
· I. Allegro con brio” (15’58)
· II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai (14’28)
· III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Alla breve – Tempo primo (5’29)
· IV. Finale. Allegro molto – Poco andante – Presto (10’58)
ETIENNE NICOLAS MÉHUL
· “Les Amazones, ou La Fondation de Thèbes Overture. Adagio – Allegro agitato” (7’19)