At the invitation of “Schaffhausen Klassik – Musik verbindet”, Stegreif opens the season with the programme “freeEroica”. What a unique opportunity to bring Stegreif’s reworking of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Third Symphony to Switzerland. Beethoven’s “Eroica” focuses entirely on the French Revolution and its values of “liberty, equality, fraternity”. Originally composed for Napoleon Bonaparte, Beethoven decided immediately after the latter’s self-coronation that the tyrant was neither a historical hero nor a suitable dedicatee for the symphony, which itself represents a revolutionary act in the history of music. Then as now, these values – upon which our modern democracies are founded – are under pressure, making it all the more urgent for Stegreif to promote the re-composition of Beethoven’s Third Symphony across Europe and to inspire people.
freeEroica is about revolutions - historical and musical - and the heroes they brought forth. The orchestra strives towards them without sheet music, without a conductor and without chairs, and in doing so also looks for the small disorders. For example;these disruptions "only" consist of entering the concert hall without shoes or taking the audience on a journey from 18th century France to the present. Thus, the Eroica is relieved with performance, improvisation and recomposition. Ripped pieces of sheet music, large majestic red cloth, destroyed orchestra positions of chairs and stands… All of these elements break the expectations of the listener to what Eroica was, and as part of the centuries-old canon repertoire, we find a new quest for this Beethoven’s new and bold
Bild: Frederik Ferschke
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