The three young men no
doubt discussed social conditions and politics, as well as music, and it
would have been an easy task for the General, who had served under
Napoleon, to excite Beethoven's enthusiasm for the Liberator of France.
In after years, when General Bernadotte became King of Sweden, he still
retained his interest in the events of this period.
This Symphony was the best work which Beethoven had yet accomplished; a
work the grandeur and sublimity of which must have been a surprise to
himself. It was conceived in the spirit of altruism, to show his
appreciation of the man whom he believed was destined more than any
other to uplift humanity. In the quality of its emotional expression,
and also in its dimensions, it far exceeded anything of the kind that
had yet appeared. Beethoven himself advised, on account of its great
length, that it be placed at the beginning of a program rather than at
its end. It is unique as a symphony, just as Napoleon was unique as a
man. On finishing the work he put the name of Bonaparte on the
title-page.
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