An Organ solo by Louis Vierne.

The Eroica Symphony is perhaps Beethoven's most provocative work. Its unprecedented design and its powerful emotional impact forever redefined the potential of musical expression. The work was conceived as a homage to Napoleon Bonaparte, but understood for over a century as a passionate rejection of the tyranny he came to represent. This book traces the compositional process and puts the Eroica in precise historical and aesthetic perspective: the political situations that brought about both the dedication to Napoleon and its withdrawal show that Beethoven followed diplomatic developments astutely. Early interpretations by Beethoven's contemporaries show that they understood the work's import clearly. This study focuses on Beethoven's unique ability to imbue traditional symphonic forms with the idealism of his philosophical mentor, Friedrich Schiller.

The primary focus of this book is accent which Lester argues is one of the major aspects of rhythm. The central question is not whether a note or event (rest point in time) is accented but how it is accented. This change of focus allows for the first time a thorough investigation into the factors that give rise to accent the relative importance of these factors in creating accentuation the way accents are perceived the way meter arises and the limits of metric organization on higher levels of structure.