For a stage production of Goethe's "Egmont" planned for spring 1810, the Vienna Burgtheater commissioned Beethoven to compose incidental music to Goethe's tragedy. He did not complete the music by the time the play was given its premiere on 24 May 1810. Only at the third performance of the play on 15 June was Beethoven's music heard for the first time. This recording is part of Leonard Bernstein's Beethoven cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from the early 1980s. The series won the Ace Award, the U.S. Cable TV Association's top award for outstanding quality and entertainment value.