"Coriolan" Overture (score & parts) - WW5

"Coriolan" Overture
for woodwind quintet: flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon
by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - German composer

Beethoven composed his Coriolan Overture in 1807 after a tragedy of that title by Josef Heinrich von Collin. The Roman general Coriolanus feels humiliated by his native city. Deeply damaged in his self-esteem, he takes up sides with the Volsci, who are threatening Rome. His mother and his former teachers try to win him back to their side. In Collin's play, the resultant struggle between patriotism and pride lasts for five acts until Coriolanus is finally allowed to fall on his sword. Beethoven distills these five acts into some ten minutes of music, depicting the hero's mental disintegration with great sympathy. 
Arranged by Joachim Linckelmann