Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 can be interpreted as a portrait of a hero. But it does not illustrate a specific narrative or actions. Instead, it uses music to express the emotions and moods of an idealised figure.
Once Napoleon Bonaparte’s name was erased, this hero would be a great reformist leader in a context of challenging conservative monarchies. In terms of music, it turned the page on the classical period and heralded the romantic century.
More than a hundred years later, Richard Strauss composed Metamorphoses between August 1944 and March 1945. The end of the Second World War was near.
The Allies’ victory was already evident to everyone. In a confessional and pessimistic tone, Strauss questioned the present and reflected on the past; on the transfiguration of the human soul into a spirit of cruelty. He intertwined melodies in the orchestral strings, which he divided into twenty-three different parts.

Programme
R. Strauss Metamorphoses
L. v. Beethoven Symphony No. 3, Heroic