In Beethoven’s Egmont, a set of incidental music pieces written for the play of the same name by Goethe, Slobodan Beštić narrates the dramatic story of the life and heroism of the 16th century nobleman Lamoral, Count of Egmont. Together with soprano Vesna Đurković and under the direction of Chief Conductor Gabriel Feltz, the Belgrade Philharmonic performed this work on April 18, 2019 at Kolarac Hall and previously at the closing ceremony of the NOMUS festival in Novi Sad. Now it is on our website as part of our Wednesday audio selection.

Beethoven’s incidental music pieces for the play Egmont by Johann Wolfgang Goethe gives the audience a rare opportunity to hear the whole music written for this play. The work shows Beethoven’s penchant for drama and stage, and especially his fascination with Goethe. However, his creativity did not capture the poet’s affections immediately. After the composer’s death, Goethe, a true worshiper of Mozart, wrote that Beethoven would be better known to future generations for his music than he for his poetry.