Course
MUSC-313, Music Styles and Literature
Document Type
Student Paper
Publication Date
2017
Disciplines
Music | Musicology
Description, Abstract, or Artist's Statement
Many of the philosophies developed during the French Enlightenment circulated around nature and human emotions. These philosophies were written by men, such as Diderot, in the Encyclopedia. Both Napoleon Bonaparte and Ludwig van Beethoven were able to exemplify the French Enlightenment through their representations of self-determination and expertise at their crafts; however, both men experienced pitfalls that greatly affected their careers. Napoleon’s was so detrimental to his career that he was exiled to a small island; whereas, Beethoven took the negativity surrounding the Heiligenstadt Testament and used these feelings to write the Eroica. This symphony was able to exemplify the French Enlightenment and set new precedents for symphonies to come.
Augustana Digital Commons Citation
Pisarczyk, Kate; Hall, Zach; and Conley, Nelle. "The French Enlightenment and Two Men: Napoleon Bonaparte and Beethoven" (2017). 2017 Festschrift: Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Op. 55.
https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/muscbeethoven/2
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.