te, incomprehensible, and much too noisy." In fact the style drew much from contemporary French music-the driving, ethically exalted, "grand style" elements combined with the highly ordered yet flexible structure of sonata form.It seems undeniable then that the Heilingenstadt Testament in which Beethoven came to terms with and put to rest the incurable tragedy of his growing deafness, also set forth a determination to prove his skills before death should take him. This quest coincided with and perhaps led to his graduation from the Viennese hi-Classic style to the development of his own unique heroic style, a blend of French and Viennese elements. The "Eroica" can be viewed as a deliverance of both his life and his career from despair and futility. Beethoven recreates himself in a new guise, self-sufficient and heroic. The Testament thus is likened to a funeral work. The composer sets himself up as the tragic hero-"my heart and soul have been full of the tender feeling of good will, and I was ever inclined to accomplish great things"-withdrawn from the company of men, tortured by his growing deafness, tempted with thoughts of suicide, overcoming despair by the pure strength of faith in his own music, searching for "but one day of pure joy." In a musical perspective, the "Eroica" Symphony established a milestone in Beethoven's development and in music history. His manipulation of sonata form to embrace the powerful emotions of heroic struggle and tragedy went beyond Mozart or Haydn's high-Classic style. Beethoven's new path reflected the turbulence of the developing politics of the day (especially the Napoleonic Wars), ignited perhaps by the hopelessness he felt in himself. He took music beyond the Viennese style which ignored the unsettling currents of Beethoven's terror, anxiety, and death. Indeed he placed tragedy at the center of his heroic style, symbolizing death, despair, and loss-paralleling his own sense of loss, pain and strife...
