Beethoven wrote a total of four overtures for his only opera, 'Leonore'/ 'Fidelio'. The so-called Leonore Overture no. 1 is third in the series by chronology, having been written in 1806/07 for a performance in Prague that never materialised.

For a long while it was erroneously regarded as a predecessor to the Leonore Overture no. 2 that Beethoven discarded, which greatly tarnished its reception. And yet it pays off to take an impartial look at this overture, which is substantially shorter th...