Beethoven's "Eroica"

Lovers of the Classical period will revel in this program which includes a lovely work by the first classical composer of African ancestry, Josef Boulogne, sometimes referred to as “Black Mozart.” Indeed, the two were acquainted, and in his spirited Overture to L’amant anonyme, it is impossible to miss the stylistic similarities. The nickname La Reine for Haydn’s Symphony No. 85 arose because the work was a favorite of Marie Antoinette who was Queen of France at that time. Haydn’s music had a substantial influence on later composers, including Beethoven, who was his pupil. The latter’s Symphony No. 3 Eroica is a work of epic proportion that marks an important landmark in the transition between the Classical and Romantic periods.