In this complete recording, Beethoven’s incidental music to Goethe’s Egmont, which includes the popular and well-known overture, can be experienced in its entirety. CD 1 offers the complete version with declamation and music, while CD 2 features only Beethoven’s music. The box also includes a recording of Beethoven’s overture Zur Namensfeier, op.115.

In September 1809, the Vienna Hofburg Theatre commissioned Ludwig van Beethoven to create new incidental music for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Egmont. The tragedy had premiered in Mainz on 9 January 1789. It calls for incidental music, but various attempts – some commissioned by the poet himself – had remained unfinished or were unsatisfactory. The music was required in several sections of the drama, however, and the Vienna production of Egmont was to include it. Beethoven set to work. He made good progress, because the subject suited him: the tragedy is set in Brussels, under threat from Spanish troops, and deals with resistance against oppression and foreign rule. The Viennese theatre premiere of Egmont on 24 May 1810 still had to make do without music, however – the score was only finally completed by the third performance. Beethoven’s incidental music was premiered on 15 June 1810.

The music itself makes it clear that this commission was close to Beethoven’s heart – it far exceeds the level of incidental music common at that time. That applies not only to the compositional demands but also to the relationship of the music to the drama.

Eschewing mere illustration, Beethoven provided an interpretation and therefore an additional level of meaning. The well-known Egmont Overture, the most dramatically dense part of the incidental music, anticipates the action and introduces the characters. A clear reference to the drama is made in the ending, which corresponds exactly to the symphony of victory called for by Goethe at the end of the tragedy. The finale – a clear reference to the drama – corresponds exactly to the “symphony of victory” called for by Goethe at the end of the tragedy.

Beethoven’s music for Goethe’s tragedy Egmont in its complete version with declamation and music (CD 1) as well as the music alone (CD 2).

Text by Friedrich Mosengeil and Franz Grillparzer, supplemented by passages from Goethe’s tragic drama and newly arranged by August Zirner.

Also featuring a recording of Beethoven’s overture Zur Namensfeier, op.115.

Narrated by the celebrated theatre and film actor August Zirner. Christina Landshamer sings the soprano part of Klärchen. Performed by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester under John Fiore.

Recent studio recording from February 2022