King Stephen, op. 117
Incidental music
King Stephen, Op. 117 (König Stephan) is a commemorative work composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1811. It includes an overture in E♭ major and nine vocal numbers. Only the overture is usually played today. The title refers to King Stephen I, founder of the Kingdom of Hungary in the year 1000.
In 1808, Emperor Francis I of Austria commissioned the construction of a large theatre at Pest in response to growing Hungarian nationalism and to reinforce the loyalty of Hungary to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy. The theatre was opened in 1811, but Beethoven's incidental music premiered on February 9, 1812, when two commemorative plays written by August von Kotzebue, König Stephan (King Stephen) and Die Ruinen von Athen (The Ruins of Athens), were first performed.
Movements
- Overtüre. Andante con moto - Presto
- Männerchor „Ruhend von seinem Taten“. Andante maestoso e con moto
- Männerchor „Auf dunklem Irrweg in finstern Hainen“. Allegro con brio
- Siegesmarsch. Feurig und stolz
- Frauenchor „Wo die Unschuld Blumen streute“. Andante con moto all'Ongarese
- Melodram (Stéphan): „Du hast dein Vaterland, dein Fürstenhaus verlassen“. Vivace
- Chor „Eine neue strahlende Sonne“. Vivace
- Melodram (Stéphan): „Ihr edlen Ungarn! Hört meine Stimme!“. Maestoso con moto – Andante maestoso – Maestoso con moto
- König Stephan, op. 11: VIII. Geistlicher Marsch, Chor und Melodram
- Schlusschor: Heil! Heil unserm Enkeln. Presto