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Masur conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 3

Rick FulkerDecember 22, 2015

Ludwig van Beethoven - inspired as a young man by the ideals of the Enlightenment and by all things heroic - named his Third Symphony the "Eroica." In December 2012, conductor Kurt Masur took on the challenge.

https://p.dw.com/p/1HRkf
Kurt Masur in Helsinki, 2011. Photo: picture-alliance/dpa
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Beethoven-Sinfoniezyklus mit Kurt Masur: Sinfonie Nr. 3

Performing Beethoven's cycle of symphonies in the space of four days is a veritably heroic enterprise in itself.

Conductor Kurt Masur, then 85, took on the challenge in December 2012 at Munich's Gasteig Philharmonic Hall.

The first movement of the "Eroica" alone is longer than most complete symphonies written before then. It's not only bigger, but also deeper and more profound than anything heard before: this work forever changed the world of classical music. The symphony also includes a deeply moving march of mourning, a more than upbeat scherzo and a triumphant finale with theme and variations.

Here's the first release of DW's exclusive concert recording of the Dresden Philharmonic during their guest performance in Munich under the musical direction of Kurt Masur.

Kurt Masur
Six months later, Masur was back in Leipzig to conduct the orchestra he'd once led for 25 years: the GewandhausImage: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas

In this edition you hear:

Ludwig van Beethoven

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, op. 55 (Eroica)

Dresden Philharmonic

Conductor: Kurt Masur

Recorded by DW in the Gasteig Philharmonic Hall in Munich on December 8, 2012.