BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
TORRES Commissioned work, to be announced. World Premiere
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica"
We continue celebrating Beethoven on the bicentenary of his death, for which Ibermúsica has programmed the complete cycle of his symphonies together with some of his most celebrated works.
Symphony No. 2 in D major was composed between 1800 and 1802 during a particularly difficult period for Beethoven, marked by the progression of his deafness and a profound personal crisis. It was at this time that he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he expressed his anguish at the prospect of being unable to continue his musical career. Despite these circumstances, the work demonstrates precisely the opposite: a remarkable vitality and the composer's ability to transform suffering into creative impulse. Although it retains close ties with the Classical tradition of Haydn and Mozart, the symphony already heralds a new stage in Beethoven's artistic development, one that would culminate in the more radical innovations of Symphony No. 3.
The revolutionary character of the Eroica proved overly ambitious for much of its contemporary audience. This was compounded by a practical consideration: its unprecedented dimensions, almost twice those of any previous symphony, pointed towards a new conception of the genre. Nevertheless, despite its cool reception, and although critics described it as "long and interminable", this groundbreaking work gradually established Beethoven's reputation as a genius and projected his fame throughout Europe.
