EROICA

This concert is performed in honor of medical staff, heroes in the fight against COVID-19.

The first movement of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, Eroica, was composed as a reminder of the heroic struggles and achievements of Napoleon, who the most famous symphony composer had hoped would inspire Europe to revolutionize the ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity. Then, in the funeral march of the second movement, he conveyed the great grief over the death of the ruler, and in the full energy of the third movement, through the scherzo and finale, he shows how his spirit and legacy still live on.

The concert opens with the Third Symphony of the first Croatian symphony composer Luka Sorkočević (1734-1789), also a diplomat of the Republic of Ragusa. The greatest Dubrovnik composer composed nine symphonies in the tradition of the Italian overture, which belong to the anthological achievements of Croatian pre-classical music.

The Rijeka Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Slaven Kulenović, one of the leading conductors of the younger generation in Slovenia.

Program:

Luka Sorkočević: Symphony No. 3 in D Major
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Presto

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Minor (“Eroica”), op. 55
I. Allegro con brio
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
III. Scherzo: Molto vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro molto – Poco andante – Presto

General sponsor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra