King Stephen (Beethoven)

King Stephen, Op. 117 (König Stephan) is a commemorative work composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1811. It includes an overture in E flat major and nine vocal numbers. Only the overture is usually played today. The title refers to King Stephen I, founder of the Kingdom of Hungary in the year 1000.

In 1808 Emperor Francis I of Austria commissioned the construction of a large theatre in Budapest, to alleviate the nationalist feelings incipient in Hungary and to celebrate the loyalty of Hungary to the Austrian Hapsburg monarchy. At the time of the inauguration of this theatre in 1811, Beethoven was commissioned to put to music two commemorative texts written by August von Kotzebue: König Stephan (King Stephen) and Die Ruinen von Athen (The Ruins of Athens). These overtures are among the least popular orchestral works of the composer and are seldom played today.

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