Wellington’s Victory – Popular Beethoven

9 facts about Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory

1. Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory is sometimes called Battle of Vitoria, or Battle Symphony. The piece was named after the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon’s French army near Vitoria, Spain. 2. The original version was not prepared for orchestra, but for the Panharmonicon of Johann Maelzel. This machine could imitate many musical instruments and sounds of canons, gunshots. 3. Beethoven …

It was not often the case that Beethoven was open to work with a musical idea that was not his own. When his friend Johann Maelzel approached him in 1813 about a promising idea that required the cooperation of the two, Beethoven said yes. The result was the Wellington’s Victory. Prelude to Wellington’s Victory In June 1813, Portuguese, Spanish …