Battle Symphony

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Battle Symphony (or Battle of Victoria, or Wellington's Victory). Eng. title for Beethoven's Wellingtons Sieg, oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria, Op.91, a piece of programme-mus. illustrating the Eng. defeat of Napoleon's troops at Vitoria in Sp. in 1812. Comp. 1813 for perf. by Beethoven's friend Maelzel's panharmonicon but actually perf. by a live orch. at 2 Viennese concerts in Dec. 1813 in aid of Austrian soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau. The tunes Rule, Britannia!, Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre, and God Save the King are incorporated, and the work was ded. to the Prince Regent. ‘Vittoria’ in the title was Beethoven's mistake for Vitoria. The work was the cause of a rift with Maelzel.