BONAPARTE
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
With perfect propriety the concept is here established that two great
men are before the world, Napoleon and Beethoven, and that the latter is
as great in his own province as was Napoleon in his, each being the
exponent of a new order of things, co-equal in the achievement of great
deeds. Posterity, in exalting the one and debasing the other, shows how
modest Beethoven was in the matter.
He was on the point of sending it to Paris when the news was brought him
by his pupil Ries, that Napoleon was declared Emperor. In a rage
Beethoven tore off the title-page containing the dedication, and threw
it to the floor. "The man will become a tyrant and will trample all
human rights under foot. He is no more than an ordinary man!" was
Beethoven's exclamation. He finally gave it the name of Sinfonia Eroica,
in memory of a great man. It is dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who had
it performed before Prince Louis Ferdinand. The Prince was greatly taken
with it, at once recognizing its worth and insisting on hearing it three
times in succession the same evening.
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