Coriolan Overture

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Ouvertüre Coriolan, op. 62, is a composition written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1807 to Heinrich Joseph von Collin's 1804 tragedy.^[1] The structure and themes of the overture follow the play very generally. The main C minor theme represents Coriolan's resolve and war-like tendencies (he is about to invade Rome), and the tender E-flat major theme represents the pleadings of his mother to desist. Coriolan eventually gives in to tenderness, but since he cannot turn back having led an army of his former enemies to Rome's gates, he kills himself.

Coriolan Overture

performed by the Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Simon Schindler

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1 Recordings
2 References
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Recordings

Two of the most highly regarded recordings are of Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker (1943) and Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1959. Neither of these recordings, however, uses period instruments or follows Beethoven's own metronome markings. Sir Roger Norrington uses period instruments and historically informed techniques in his recording of the overture with the London Classical Players (in a boxed set along with the 9 symphonies).

Other notable recordings include those by Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic, Karl Böhm with the Vienna Philharmonic, Carlos Kleiber conducting Bavaria State Orchestra and Bruno Walter conducting the Columbia Symphony. The work was a staple of Arturo Toscanini's repertoire, and six recordings under Toscanini's baton are extant as well as one recording of rehearsal excerpts.