Beethoven and the Piccolo

I've written previously about my mild fixation with the piccolo, which started with a demonstration of the instrument in the third grade.

Last weekend at the symphony, we heard Beethoven's Ninth. Last night, we heard the Fifth. What really struck me hearing these back-to-back is how much Beethoven uses the piccolo in the last movement of each. The piccolo player really gets a workout!

My all-time favorite Beethoven piccolo is at the end of the Egmont Overture. Here is Leonard Bernstein conducting:

When I got home last night I did a web search on Beethoven and the piccolo. It turns out there is a popular misconception that Beethoven's Fifth is the first time the piccolo was used in a symphonic work. It's not true, but it's an interesting misconception, I'm sure born out of how prominent the piccolo is in the orchestration of the last movement.

Not surprisingly, a big crowd came for the symphony's performance of the Fifth. It was even a little fuller in the third tier.