Ludwig van Beethoven
Sinfonie No. 3 „Eroica“ | Sinfonie No. 5
Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra | Gabriel Feltz

catalog number  21088

The Third and Fifth symphonies do not each include the discursive spirit so typical for Beethoven, moreover they seem, in some way, to communicate with one another. In the “Eroica” the four movements are all independent and very different, whereas the individual movements of the Fifth are connected by the ‘knocking motif’ which appears in differing form, but is always clear and meaningful. Looked at in this way both works represent two differing answers by Beethoven to the question which is posed in each musical epoch as to what actually constitutes a symphony.