Abstract This chapter explores the relation between style and agency inspired by the French Revolution in the formation of the heroic subject and its claims to freedom. In particular, it considers how this ‘stylized agency’ became a musical force or will through the music of Beethoven. A selective analysis and critique of the Eroica Symphony—the symbol of this new-found autonomy in the narrative of Western music history—teases out the ethical and theological ramifications of such freedom. The chapter closes by opening up the conception of freedom in Beethoven’s music to suggest that even in Symphony that calls itself ‘heroic’ there are alternative freedoms to be heard.
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