Name-Day Overture, Op. 115

Composer: BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van
  • Beethoven’s overture Namensfeier in C Major op. 115 was composed in 1814-15.1
  • Beethoven intended this overture for civic festivities surrounding the Congress of Vienna in 1814, when royal guests visited from throughout Europe.2
  • It was intended for the name day (4 October) of Habsburg Emperor of Austria Franz II (r. 1804-1835)3 but Beethoven didn’t complete it in time, and it didn’t premier until December 25, 1815.4
  • The Emperor’s youngest brother was Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven’s piano student and friend, and the dedicatee of “Archduke” Trio and many other Beethoven works.5

Sources

  1. Douglas Johnson et al, “Beethoven, Ludwig van,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2001), accessed July 22, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040026.
  2. Ibid.
  3. “Francis II,” Encyclopædia Brittanica (February 26, 2019), accessed July 24, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-II-Holy-Roman-emperor.
  4. Johnson et al, “Beethoven, Ludwig van,” Grove Music Online.
  5. Douglas Johnson et al, “Beethoven, Ludwig van,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2001), accessed July 24, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040026.

Cut IDs

15648