Ludwig van Beethoven

Symphony No. 3 E flat Major op. 55

The original manuscript of the work has been lost, but a copy with corrections in the composer's hand, dating presumably from 1804, has come down to us. Beethoven added the following comment on the title page: 'geschrieben auf Bonaparte', which lends authenticity to the familiar story that oroginally the composer had named the symphony after Napoleon Bonaparte, but when he learnt that the revolutionary whom he idolized had let himself crown emperor, he tore off the cover page of the score in disillusion and rage, and changed both its title and dedication in the following way: 'Sinfonia EROICA, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire d'un grand' uomo, e dedicata a Sua AltezzaSerenissima il Principe di Lobkowitz. '