English version of the video description Beethoven wrote this march in 1809. The manuscript has a dedication to Archduke Anton Victor Joseph, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, subsequently replaced by a dedication to the Bohemian Militia. In 1810 the march was performed as part of a dressage performance in the grounds of Laxenburg Palace outside Vienna (Beethoven in a letter to Archduke Rudolph: "I can tell that Your Imperial Highness is minded to have the effect of my music tried even on horses. Well then, so be it, I am curious to see if it will enable the riders to do some clever somersaults"). The march rapidly became popular. At that time Napoleon held sway over Europe. But in 1812 the French emperor's attempt to knock out Russia failed: though he was able to occupy Moscow his adversary remained unbeaten while he himself had to withdraw with horrendous losses among his soldiers. On 30 December of that year the Prussian general Ludwig von Yorck signed a truce with his Russian counterpart (Convention of Tauroggen -- Tauragė in Lithuania), without permission from the hesitant Prussian king. It was a key decision, because Yorck disposed of fresh troops that, had they continued to side with the French, might have enabled Napoleon to stop the Russian advance at the Vistula, whereas since they did not his rout became irreversible (MacDonald, the French general under whose command Yorck served, called his action "la plus grande trahison de l'histoire"). Russian troops were now free to enter East Prussia, where Yorck helped persuade the assembly of the provincial estates to mobilise a militia on its own authority. Anti-Napoleonic resistance began to flare up throughout northern Germany. In these circumstances King Frederick William III, livid at first, found himself both compelled and empowered to terminate his forced alliance with Napoleon. On 17 March 1813 Yorck, accompanied by his men, entered Berlin on horseback, with his stare fixed ahead -- it was of course a rather delicate situation for him. To be sure, two weeks earlier Russian troops had occupied Berlin following the withdrawal of French troops from the city (the king was at Breslau [Wrocław]); the populace lining the streets, its mood intensely anti-Napoleonic, applauded Yorck frenetically; his actions had been cleared retrospectively. But for the time being he was deprived of a command of his own. Over the next couple of years he had his share in the battles against Napoleon, commemorated in (and now perhaps mostly known as) street names in Berlin: Möckern, Großgörschen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Wartenburg (in 1814 the king made him a count under the name Yorck von Wartenburg), as well as the decisive defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig. In 1817 the king decreed the publication of a collection of marches for the Prussian army. In it, we find the one heard here as no. 37 and labelled as being the march of Yorck's army corps in 1813. The composer, in Vienna, had nothing to do with this, presumably received no royalties, and may not even have heard of the publication. At least he is mentioned as author of the piece, if misspelled ("Bethoven"). The march has been or is part of the core repertory of army bands in Prussia, the former GDR, the Federal Republic, and other countries. (The 1817 score says "York", a variant sometimes found even now and due to the fashion in the early 19th c. for "simplified" spelling. The signature under the 1812 convention reads "Yorck", but it seems that the general himself later omitted the c in writing his name. His descendants restored it -- the most prominent among them being his great-grandson Count Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, one of the conspirators against Hitler in the plot of 20 July 1944.) a_osiander(at)gmx.net . andreas-osiander.net . facebook.com/andreas.osiander
Sehr interessant welche Geschichte hinter diesem Marsch steckt. Ich kenne ihn aus meiner Zeit als Blasmusiker, wusste aber nicht den Hintergrund. Vielen Dank!
![Yorckscher Marsch [German march]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TZix2QJgWUQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Yorckscher Marsch [German march]](/img/tr.png)
English version of the video description
Beethoven wrote this march in 1809. The manuscript has a dedication to Archduke Anton Victor Joseph, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, subsequently replaced by a dedication to the Bohemian Militia. In 1810 the march was performed as part of a dressage performance in the grounds of Laxenburg Palace outside Vienna (Beethoven in a letter to Archduke Rudolph: "I can tell that Your Imperial Highness is minded to have the effect of my music tried even on horses. Well then, so be it, I am curious to see if it will enable the riders to do some clever somersaults").
The march rapidly became popular. At that time Napoleon held sway over Europe. But in 1812 the French emperor's attempt to knock out Russia failed: though he was able to occupy Moscow his adversary remained unbeaten while he himself had to withdraw with horrendous losses among his soldiers. On 30 December of that year the Prussian general Ludwig von Yorck signed a truce with his Russian counterpart (Convention of Tauroggen -- Tauragė in Lithuania), without permission from the hesitant Prussian king. It was a key decision, because Yorck disposed of fresh troops that, had they continued to side with the French, might have enabled Napoleon to stop the Russian advance at the Vistula, whereas since they did not his rout became irreversible (MacDonald, the French general under whose command Yorck served, called his action "la plus grande trahison de l'histoire"). Russian troops were now free to enter East Prussia, where Yorck helped persuade the assembly of the provincial estates to mobilise a militia on its own authority. Anti-Napoleonic resistance began to flare up throughout northern Germany. In these circumstances King Frederick William III, livid at first, found himself both compelled and empowered to terminate his forced alliance with Napoleon.
On 17 March 1813 Yorck, accompanied by his men, entered Berlin on horseback, with his stare fixed ahead -- it was of course a rather delicate situation for him. To be sure, two weeks earlier Russian troops had occupied Berlin following the withdrawal of French troops from the city (the king was at Breslau [Wrocław]); the populace lining the streets, its mood intensely anti-Napoleonic, applauded Yorck frenetically; his actions had been cleared retrospectively. But for the time being he was deprived of a command of his own. Over the next couple of years he had his share in the battles against Napoleon, commemorated in (and now perhaps mostly known as) street names in Berlin: Möckern, Großgörschen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Wartenburg (in 1814 the king made him a count under the name Yorck von Wartenburg), as well as the decisive defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig.
In 1817 the king decreed the publication of a collection of marches for the Prussian army. In it, we find the one heard here as no. 37 and labelled as being the march of Yorck's army corps in 1813. The composer, in Vienna, had nothing to do with this, presumably received no royalties, and may not even have heard of the publication. At least he is mentioned as author of the piece, if misspelled ("Bethoven"). The march has been or is part of the core repertory of army bands in Prussia, the former GDR, the Federal Republic, and other countries.
(The 1817 score says "York", a variant sometimes found even now and due to the fashion in the early 19th c. for "simplified" spelling. The signature under the 1812 convention reads "Yorck", but it seems that the general himself later omitted the c in writing his name. His descendants restored it -- the most prominent among them being his great-grandson Count Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, one of the conspirators against Hitler in the plot of 20 July 1944.)
a_osiander(at)gmx.net . andreas-osiander.net . facebook.com/andreas.osiander
Dankeschön 👋 Einer der schönsten Märsche der Welt 💯
Gerne! Und danke für den Kommentar!
this sounds great good work.
Thank you!
I have heard this march many time without knowing it was composed by Beethoven .
I know! It does come as a bit of a surprise.
Sehr interessant welche Geschichte hinter diesem Marsch steckt. Ich kenne ihn aus meiner Zeit als Blasmusiker, wusste aber nicht den Hintergrund. Vielen Dank!
Vielen Dank für die Rückmeldung! Es freut mich, dass meine Anmerkungen von Interesse waren!
Marvellous!
Thank you! I'm glad you like it!
Danke - ich singe und musiziere auch, meist daheim!❤
Das freut mich!
Eigentlich hieß der Marsch: Marsch für die böhmische Landwehr!
Richtig! So hat ihn Beethoven selbst genannt -- war aber auch schon sein zweiter Anlauf, im ersten hieß er noch Marsch für den Erzherzog Anton.
Danke
Für diesen Marsch gibt es auch ein selten gespieltes Trio. Wurde dies später eingefügt, und stammt es von Beethoven selbst?
Sehr interessant -- davon höre ich zum ersten Mal! Ich kann daher auch zur Autorschaft des Trios nichts sagen.
Great march but more effective by a military band
No doubt! But this is the closest I could get to being my own military band :-)
@@einervonweitem it still sounds good 👍
Ich Idiot habe bis heute nicht gewußt, daß es von Beethoven ist. Schande über mich.
Ich weiß, irgendwie kommt es unerwartet...