From Luigi Cherubini to Ludwig van Beethoven, via Napoleon Bonaparte: when music bows down, rebels, or deludes itself into thinking it can change history Revolution in C
Tonight, get ready! We’re talking politics.
Put Cherubini and Beethoven in an equation and the result is: Napoleon Bonaparte.
France, late 18th century. The French Revolution had made its beautiful promises – Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité – but the path to those ideals had encountered a few minor hiccups. For example, there were severed heads, the Reign of Terror, and a certain Robespierre, a professional paranoid who guillotined indiscriminately.
In this cheerful climate, our Cherubini understood one fundamental thing: if you want to survive, you have to suck up to those in power. He composed the Hymne au Panthéon for the transport of the body of the revolutionary “martyr” Marat. The result: his head remained intact and – lo and behold – he was given a new position at the Institut National de Musique. Professional.
Meanwhile, a guy emerged from Corsica who seemed very good at repelling the threat of the monarchists through ruthless massacres against the population. Yes, that’s right: Napoleon. Appointed commander of the Army of Italy, he quickly defeated the Austrian troops, who were stronger on paper, advancing as far as Mantua.
Europe was left speechless.
Ugo Foscolo hoped he would liberate Italy. Hegel argued that he was unknowingly bringing about the modernization of Europe. And Beethoven saw him as living proof that blue blood could be defeated, so much so that he dedicated his Third Symphony to him.
Imagine the disillusionment of many when Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of the French.
Beethoven did not think twice and tore the title page from the symphony, declaring, “Now he will trample on all human rights, indulging only his ambition.” Wrong! In reality, Napoleon also indulged his own whims—for example, his preference for Italian opera over the “noisy” Cherubini, who found himself forced into a kind of Viennese lethargy (which lasted until the Restoration).
Tonight’s lesson?
To act like a cherub and be nice to the regime of the moment whenever there is something to be gained, other times you lose.
To pass yourself off as the savior of the world opens the doors to tyranny (but why do ordinary mortals fall for it every time?).
To maintain a strong ethic, at least, in the manner of Beethoven, you earn the esteem of posterity.
I miss Beethoven. I wonder what he would have said about today’s leaders? And I wonder what he would have done with his Tenth Symphony?
