Philharmonia Orchestra

When Schoenberg was composing his Piano Concerto, his markings at the beginning of each movement suggested an autobiographical connection: “Life was so easy”, “Suddenly hatred broke out”, “A grave situation was created” and “But life goes on”. Although these markings were removed in the final published version, the underlying dramatic structure still affects the listener intensely. Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, equally dramatic in nature, is the work that rethought the classical symphonic structure, with unexpected recapitulations, and an unprecedented depth of emotion in the second movement.