Beethoven: Hero/Rebel
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Maxim Emelyanychev conductor, Vilde Frang violin
Queen Elizabeth Hall. 27 February 2025

Vilde Frang. Photo credit: Marco Borggreve

Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Symphony No.3 (Eroica)

Responding to the question “What does it mean to be a hero or a rebel?”, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment featured two of Beethoven’s works that they suggest represent his rebellious spirit and heroism. As Beethoven faced his struggles of increasing deafness, Napoleon’s campaign to free Europe from tyrannous monarchies had given him hope. But when Napoleon declared himself Emperor, the composer famously scratched out the dedication from the cover page of the Symphony’s manuscript, reportedly declaring: ‘So he is no more than a common mortal! Now he, too, will tread underfoot all the rights of man and indulge only his ambition.”

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