The Eroica Riddle: Did Napoleon Remain Beethoven's "Hero?"

Christopher T. George

A Great Myth: Beethoven the Democrat vs. Napoleon the Tyrant

In recording his memories of Ludwig van Beethoven, Ferdinand Ries set in stone one of the enduring myths of nineteenth century cultural history: That in 1804 the composer angrily revoked his planned dedication to Napoleon Bonaparte of his Third (Eroica) Symphony when he learned that Napoleon had declared himself Emperor. Ries recalled:

In writing this symphony Beethoven had been thinking of Buonaparte, but Buonaparte while he was First Consul. At that time Beethoven had the highest esteem for him and compared him to the greatest consuls of ancient Rome. Not only I, but many of Beethoven's closer friends, saw this symphony on his table, beautifully copied in manuscript, with the word "Buonaparte" inscribed at the very top of the title-page and "Luigi van Beethoven" at the very bottom. ...I was the first to tell him the news that Buonaparte had declared himself Emperor, whereupon he broke into a rage and exclaimed, "So he is no more than a common mortal! Now, too, he will tread under foot all the rights of man, indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men, become a tyrant!" Beethoven went to the table, seized the top of the title-page, tore it in half and threw it on the floor. The page had to be re-copied and it was only now that the symphony received the title "Sinfonia eroica." [1]

The essential truthfulness of Ries's recollection is confirmed by the biography by Anton Schindler, who served as assistant and unpaid secretary to Beethoven during the composer's last years. The former aide and confidante, though, names Ries and Count Moritz Lichnowsky as the joint bearers of the news "that Napoleon had allowed himself to be proclaimed Emperor of the French." [2]

Each retelling of the Ries story continues the myth that Beethoven the Democrat excoriated Napoleon Bonaparte the Tyrant. Initially, intellectuals throughout Europe looked upon Napoleon as a hero-including German artists such as Goethe and Beethoven. However, as time went on, they were disillusioned. In a recent consideration of Napoleon's reputation in The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik reiterated the accepted myth when he wrote, "The most famous disillusionment [with Napoleon] is Beethoven's...." [3]

Beethoven in 1804

On the surface, the scene described by Ries would seem to be the final word on Beethoven and Napoleon. However, as we will discuss, Beethoven's apparent disgust only seems irrevocable when seen out of context of his other known remarks regarding the French ruler following and even before the Ries incident. The truth turns out to be much more complicated than Ries implies.

According to Schindler, the idea of dedicating the symphony to Napoleon was suggested by then ambassador to Vienna Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. However, the erratic Schindler dates Bernadotte's ambassadorship to 1804 when in fact Bernadotte served as ambassador from February to April 1798. [5]

Can the story of the link with Bernadotte be believed?

Substantial questions have been raised about Schindler's version of Beethoven biography in light of evidence that he destroyed and even doctored the composer's papers. The former secretary destroyed two-thirds of around four hundred "Conversation Books" which the composer's associates utilized to communicate with the almost totally deaf Beethoven in his later years. It has also been proved that Schindler forged some 150 entries in the remaining 138 Conversation Books. [6]

Nevertheless, the notion that Marshal Bernadotte may have played a role in the genesis of Eroica is intriguing, if hard to verify. Schindler asserted that the composer became a visitor to Bernadotte's "salon" at the French embassy. Prior to frequenting the salon, Schindler claimed, "Beethoven...had already expressed great admiration for the First Consul of the Republic." When Bernadotte suggested to the composer that he "honour the greatest hero of the age in a musical composition...the master, having battled with his political scruples" wrote such a masterpiece. The composer's admiration, Schindler says, stemmed not from Bonaparte's military victories but because the First Consul had produced "political order out of the chaos of a bloody revolution." [7] Did Schindler, a known republican, twist the facts to make Beethoven appear more of a democrat? Earlier this century, Vincent d'Indy accused him of doing just that. He asserted that the Bernadotte story had been contrived by Schindler when "steeped in republican ideology and yielding to the mania for appearing progressive." [8]

What is the truth about the Bernadotte story?

Marshal Bernadotte who served as French ambassador in Vienna from February to April 1798.

Bernadotte resided in Vienna as French ambassador from 5 February to 14 April 1798. In just over two months, he would be forced to leave Vienna because of his own tactlessness. Foolishly, he insisted on wearing the French revolutionary tricolor on his hat, which goaded the royalist Austrians. He also flouted protocol by refusing to accord anyone any other official rank than "Citizen." On 13 April, he brashly flew the revolutionary tricolor from his balcony provoking a riot. This led to his abrupt departure the next day. [9]

Considering Bernadotte's behavior, would Beethoven have risked his reputation by associating with him? We should bear in mind that Beethoven was a German provincial from Bonn and not an established Viennese composer. He still had some way to go before achieving the high reputation of the late wunderkind Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or even the still-living "Papa" Franz Joseph Haydn. [10]

Beethoven as Republican: Fact or Fiction?

A police state existed in Austria in the 1790's. Although evidence exists to suggest that Beethoven sympathized with the republican cause, he did not at first flagrantly display his beliefs. In the years following his arrival in Vienna in 1792, the composer showed no outward display of support for the revolutionary movement. Instead, Solomon notes, "Just as in Bonn...he tended to merge his views and interests with those of his patrons and with those of Vienna as a whole." [11]

After arriving in Vienna, the composer also attempted to cultivate an aura of nobility. He well understood that being known to belong to an aristocratic family would serve him well in Vienna. Unfortunately, his claim of nobility was proved to be a sham in 1818 during the court battle to adopt his nephew Karl following the death of his late brother. Previous to this exposé, he had allowed his name to appear in print with the Prussian aristocratic suffix "von." In an even more bizarre display of pretension, he had refused to publicly deny a rumor that he was the natural son of Frederick the Great. [12]

The truth seems to be that Beethoven put on patrician airs while he simultaneously held republican sympathies. In Beethoven and the French Revolution, Bishop Fan S. Noli states:

All [of] the slogans of the French Revolution can be found in Beethoven's writings and, sometimes, in places where we hardly expect them, in business letters and in love letters. [13]

What Did Beethoven Think of Napoleon Bonaparte?

It is not far fetched to believe that the composer held a degree of self-identification with Napoleon. The French ruler was barely a year older than he was. Both came from less than aristocratic backgrounds; Napoleon's family too had to establish their not too provable aristocratic pedigree to facilitate their son's admittance to a royal school for sons of the nobility. Both men hailed from provincial areas and had to go to capital cities to achieve success. Both men were short; Schindler states that Beethoven stood at five foot four, while most authorities put the "Little Corporal" at five foot two or three. [14]

Because Beethoven was such a contradictory man, it is hard to assess his attitudes toward Napoleon. Most likely, judging by the evidence about his convictions about a variety of topics, his opinions about the French ruler were far from clear-cut. Beethoven's letters paint a portrait of a changeable individual who switched moods with lightning speed. Thus, for example, we find him damning a music publisher as a "rascal" then in succeeding letters cheerfully doing business with that same publisher. J. S. Shedlock notes that Beethoven's words "only express the state of his feelings at certain times." Most likely, judging by the volatile moods exhibited in his letters, the episode described by Ries was just one more "momentary explosion of anger." [15]

Numerous shreds of evidence prove that Beethoven was not permanently alienated from Napoleon in the years following 1804. In 1824, the composer went to a coffeehouse with Karl Czerny. Czerny found a newspaper on a table containing an announcement for Sir Walter Scott's Life of Napoleon. "Napoleon!" Beethoven cried. "Formerly I disliked him. Now I think quite differently." [16]

In a Conversation Book of January 1820, a friend of Beethoven's expressed an almost identical sentiment. "As a German," the friend wrote, "I was [Napoleon's] greatest enemy, but with the passage of time I have come to terms with him." This is clear proof that Napoleon was not persona non grata in Beethoven's circle. In fact, the acquaintance went further in praise of the deposed ruler:

If Napoleon were to return now, he could expect a better reception in Europe. He understood the spirit of the times and knew how to keep a firm hold on the reigns... He had an appreciation for art and science and hated darkness. He would have valued the Germans more and would have protected their rights... He fought the feudal system and was the protector of laws and rights.... [17]

On hearing news of Napoleon's death in exile on St. Helena on May 5, 1822, Beethoven remarked, "I have already composed the proper music for that catastrophe." There is also the possibility that a passage in the Missa Solemnis may have been inspired by Napoleon's death. Its "Dona nobis pacem" features drumbeats and distant trumpet fanfares, then the contralto breaks into an anguished cry. Marek suggests that this passage could have been "a reminder of Napoleon, who died while Beethoven was working on the Missa...." [18]

Closer to the time of the Ries episode, we see evidence of Beethoven's lingering admiration for Napoleon in the diary of Baron de Trémont. The French civil servant visited the composer in 1809 during the French occupation of Vienna. The Baron recalled, "The greatness of Napoleon preoccupied him and he often spoke to me about it. I observed, he admired Napoleon's ascent from such a low beginning. It suited his democratic ideas." [19]

If the composer admired Bonaparte in the role of a Republican consul, he may have thought he could not tolerate him if he became an autocrat like Julius Caesar. In his study, Beethoven had on his writing table a small bust of Lucius Brutus, Caesar's assassin. [20]

Baron Trémont supplies evidence of the composer's mixed feelings about Napoleon. The Baron says he asked the composer whether he would like to get to know France. "I have always ardently desired to see France," Beethoven replied, "but that was before France acquired an Emperor. Now I've lost my inclination." On another occasion, the composer asked, "If I should go to Paris, should I obliged to pay a call on your Emperor?" The Baron assured him that he would not be obliged to do so. "And do you think that he would order me to attend on him?" the composer persisted. Trémont concluded, "This question led me to infer that, in spite of his convictions, Beethoven would have been flattered by distinctions bestowed upon him by Napoleon." [21]

The name "Bonaparte" was also not so offensive that he failed to think seriously about accepting an offer in autumn 1808 from Jerome Bonaparte, the new King of Westphalia. Jerome offered him six hundred gold ducats a year if he would serve as Kapellmeister or court composer to the Court of Cassel. In taking the position, Beethoven would continue a family tradition. In 1733, the composer's grandfather, Ludovicus van Beethoven, had been appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector of Cologne. But before he could think about accepting those tainted Bonapartian ducats, a Viennese cabal comprising Archduke Rudolph and Princes Lobkowitz and Kinsky made offered to pay him 4,000 florins a year until he could find a more suitable position, or otherwise for life. [22]

Even more convincing proof that all was forgiven between Beethoven and Napoleon is provided in a notation that the composer wrote to himself in 1810. This memorandum finds Beethoven searching for a dedicatee for his Mass in C, Opus 86. The Mass, he told himself, "could perhaps be dedicated to Napoleon." [23]

The Right Time to Compose a "Bonaparte" Symphony

In order to understand the composer's planned dedication of his Third Symphony to Napoleon and his revocation of that dedication, we should discuss the timing of the writing of the symphony.

Beethoven in 1804

Napoleon's troops under Moreau won a crushing victory over the Austrians at Hohenlinden on December 3, 1800. Peace was concluded between Austria and France on February 9, 1801 in the Treaty of Lunéville, making way for a period of peace of four years' duration. Peace made it feasible for Beethoven to write a work in celebration of the achievements of the French leader. [24]

This time of peace followed Beethove's thirtieth birthday in 1800. Around this period, the composer was traumatized to realize that his deafness was worsening. In October 1802, while in Heiligenstadt, a village outside of Vienna, he wrote the so-called "Heiligenstadt Testament." In a long letter to his two brothers, never sent and discovered among his papers after his death, Beethoven described his despair and suicidal thoughts. [25]

A connection exists between Eroica and the Heiligenstadt Testament. Denis Arnold, noting that the testament shows the composer's resolve "to allow fate to take its course," concludes,

The Heiligenstadt Testament is a somewhat melodramatic document in which Beethoven places himself in the role of hero... fighting against overwhelming odds that would finally defeat him. The tortured mood is given more convincing expression in the Third ("Eroica") Symphony, a work inspired by and originally dedicated to Napoleon, then...the heroic embodiment of the anti-monarchist Revolution. [26]

Solomon also sees a link between the two products of Beethoven's mind: