Rio Hondo Symphony

Gioachino Rossini

Franz Liszt

Ludvig van Beethoven

We all admire heroes for their deeds of bravery, self-sacrifice and noble human qualities. Rossini immortalized William Tell's steadfast marksmanship even in the face of putting his own flesh and blood in harm's way while Liszt held all of Europe in awe of his pianistic virtuosity only to give it up in order to lay the foundation of modern piano pedagogy in his famous masterclasses. Perhaps Beethoven understood the true meaning of hero when he tore up the dedication of his third symphony to Napolean after he declared himself Emperor. He changed the inscription, which reads "to the memory of a great man." In this symphony Beethoven declared his own greatness by creating a work that changed the course symphonic music forever and in doing so inspires us all to discover the hero within ourselves.