Coriolan Overture

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 1807 Overture to " Coriolan " (op. 62) as a play Overture to Heinrich Joseph von Collins play of that name. The Coriolan material appears in Livy Ab urbe condita in for the first time.

Historical Background

Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus The Roman patrician is banished from Rome, since he has tried to coerce by withholding food the people to give him back his rights. He then allied himself with the enemies of Rome, the Volscians, and attack his hometown. After it became clear that Rome can not be defended with longer arms, tried an embassy of noble Roman women, including his wife and mother of Coriolanus, first by prayer and supplication Coriolanus for withdrawal of troops to move. Finally, it succeed his mother less by entreaty than by demanding and appealing to his duties to the home to wring him peace.

Musical implementation

Collin does now from the person of the Coriolan an ambivalent hero who wants to convince one hand by linear action to the outside, on the other hand reveals through his aufbrausendes being an inner uncertainty. These same traits discussed by Beethoven in his overture, which he introduces with three powerful, long-drawn Streicherunisoni that are abruptly terminated by each torn Tutti blows. But this imperious motif followed by a string theme that puts in its metric arbitrariness of the self-confidence of the introduction of the question. This restlessness motif into a aufbrausendes Tutti about representing the feeling flashes of the title character, and finally ends in a soft, graceful Streicherkantilene: The supplication of women for peace. This prayer and supplication obviously reinforces the inner doubt Coriolanus to his actions. For now pushing ever further the unrest motif in the foreground and ends in ever-widening emotional outbursts, which are represented by sharp string tremolos. From this tension, the duties of home and family against the one hand, the oath of allegiance to the Volscians against the other, there is no way for Coriolanus. Collins drama ends with the suicide of the hero, Beethoven completed his overture to the slowly dying unrest motif. With three barely audible pianissimo Pizzicatotönen the piece ends.