Justin Dalisay

Music History II

Dr. Daniil Zavlunov

May 5, 2018

Beethoven’s “Heroic”/ “Mature” / “Second” Decade

Ludwig van Beethoven is the most famous composer in classical music. His music

bridged the gap between the classical and the romantic period. However, he does not completely

belong to either period. Beethoven’s life can be broken down into three creative periods: early

(1790-1802), Middle or “Heroic” (1803-1812/14), and late (1812-1818). This paper will discuss

Beethoven’s middle decade, his musical style during this creative period, and why it was called

the “Heroic” decade.

1803-1812/14 is referred to as the “Heroic” period because most of the compositions

written in this decade contain a triumphant narrative. One example is his Symphony No. 3

Eroica, which implies a narrative of epic struggle that is resolved by epic victory. This narrative

is depicted through the music. For example, Beethoven uses an extensive development section

prolonging the developmental process in sonata form. The elongated section represents a drawn

out and epic struggle that is finally resolved in the coda. The coda is just as long as the

exposition (which is unusual to proper sonata form), representing the epic victory. This is just

one example of Beethoven’s use of a heroic narrative in his “Heroic” decade.

Most of the music Beethoven created in this period was written on an immense scale and

emits a valiant sound. One can hear this sound in the other works composed in this decade such

as Symphony No. 5. Why did Beethoven prolifically compose works containing a heroic
narrative during this decade? Around this time, he had lost most of his hearing. Although we

don’t know who the hero was in his Eroica Symphony, it is quite possible that the hero could be

Beethoven himself; the composer who was enduring an epic struggle losing his hearing and

experiencing epic victory through his compositional success.