You know the masters who make up the canon of standard orchestral works. There’s Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven, and many more: household names in classical music, and for good reason. Their music stands the test of time.
But if you could travel back in time to, say, Beethoven’s time? Who else was premiering symphonies and concertos? Would you recognize them? Would you like them? If Beethoven was The Beatles, who was The Byrds?
On April 7, 1805, Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony debuted. The other piece on the program was Anton Eberl’s Symphony in Eb Major Op. 33. Reviews unconditionally praised Eberl’s symphony, while Beethoven’s was met with mixed reviews.
Born in 1765, Anton Eberl may have been a student of Mozart, and over 60 of his compositions remain today. It is said that his compositions were commonly passed off as Mozart during his lifetime.
Listen to the Eberl’s Symphony in Eb Major and see what you think! Would you have felt the same as critics of his day?
