Welcome back to another 2024 BBC Proms preview from BBC Music Magazine. Read on for all the details on Prom 72, taking place at 7.30pm on Friday 13 September at the Royal Albert Hall… and featuring the Beethoven symphony that changed the course of classical music forever.
After tonight, there’s one more Prom remaining in the 2024 season. And you know what that is: the opulent season closer that is the Last Night of the Proms.
What’s on at the BBC Proms today?
We begin tonight with the very first symphony composed by the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Austrian composer would later write some of the best loved and most seminal symphonies in the repertoire, culminating in the dazzling feast of intertwined melodies that is the ‘Jupiter’ Symphony. He penned this first essay in the genre, though, at the tender age of eight!
With its elegance and clarity, Mozart’s First Symphony shows a clear influence of Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach, whom Mozart had encountered in London. Its three movements comprise a lively, energetic Allegro in sonata form; a C minor Andante, quite sombre and reflective in mood; and a joyous, brisk Presto. Coming from the mind of an eight-year-old, it’s a pretty extraordinary feat!
A great French symphony
Next on tonight’s programme is the Symphony No. 3 in G minor by the 19th-century French composer Louise Farrenc. A contemporary of the likes of Schumann and Mendelssohn, Farrenc is perhaps best known for her chamber music, but she also composed various orchestral works – including three symphonies. She features in our list of the greatest French composers of all time.
Composed in 1847, her Third Symphony is a colourful and energetic work that shows some influences from Beethoven (Farrenc’s teacher, Anton Reicha, was a friend of the great composer). Its movements include a beautiful Adagio movement is equally glorious, transforming from a gentle melody for clarinet and oboe to a full-bodied symphonic workout.
A game-changing orchestral work
Then it’s time for tonight’s major work – and what a work it is. We’re talking about Beethoven’s magisterial Symphony No. 3, the Eroica. If one symphony can be said to have changed the course of classical music, it’s surely the Eroica. Composed at the dawn of the 19th century, between 1803 and 1804, Beethoven’s Third Symphony marked a pivotal moment, not only in its composer’s career but also in the story of the symphonic form.
This big, bold, harmonically daring and emotionally complex work set new boundaries for the symphony. In terms of scale, complexity and emotional power, the Eroica surpasses previous works by Mozart, Haydn and others. It is much longer and more intricate than most symphonies of its time. From now on, symphonies would reach new heights of both structural complexity and emotional depth.
Interestingly, Beethoven composed the Eroica at a time of great personal crisis, in particular his struggles with his developing deafness. It’s possible to hear, in the symphony’s emotional power, some of the composer’s inner turmoil and sense of transformation. You won’t be surprised that the Eroica finishes very strongly in our chart of the greatest symphonies of all time.
The Eroica, movement by movement
We begin with an Allegro con brio in Sonata form. It opens, famously, with two bold chords that grab the listener’s attention. Then follows a grand, heroic main theme that goes through various developments as the movement progresses. There’s plenty of rhythmic energy and change throughout. Both the movement’s length (15 minutes) and its sudden changes in harmony and dynamics broke new ground in symphonic style.
The next movement is, famously, a funeral march. Solemn and filled with emotion, it’s one of Beethoven’s most powerful slow movements, alongside perhaps those of the Seventh and Ninth Symphonies. Composers such as Brahms and Mahler would later draw on this movement’s emotional heft and dignity when composing their own funeral marches.
The Eroica’s third movement is a lively Scherzo and trio. This provides a complete break from the gravity and dignity of the funeral march. Full of dynamic contrast and rhythmic urgency, the Scherzo is broken up by a trio section in which the French horn features prominently.
The final movement is a set of variations that draw on a theme from Beethoven’s ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. These start in light-hearted mode but gain in intricacy, drama and, at moments, humour.
Who is performing at the BBC Proms today?
Performing the Eroica and other works for Prom 72 are the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and conductor Antonello Manacorda.
What time do the BBC Proms start today?
Prom 72 starts at 7.30pm, and tickets are priced from £11 to £54.