Turkish March (Beethoven)

The Turkish March ("Marcia alla turca") is a well-known classical march theme by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was written in the Turkish style popular in music of the time. The theme was first used in Beethoven's "Six Variations on an Original Theme", Op. 76, of 1809. In 1811, Beethoven wrote an overture and incidental music to a play by August von Kotzebue called "The Ruins of Athens" (Op. 113), which premiered in Pest in 1812.
The march is in B major, tempo vivace and time. Its dynamic scheme is highly suggestive of a procession passing by, starting out pianissimo, poco a poco rising to a fortissimo climax and then receding back to pianissimo by the coda. Unlike much of Beethoven's other orchestral music, the woodwinds are the dominant voice rather than the strings.
In popular culture.
Franz Liszt wrote a version for piano and orchestra in 1837 entitled "Fantasie über Motiven aus Beethovens Ruinen von Athen" (S. 122). He also wrote a piano transcription in 1846, titled "Capriccio alla turca sur des motifs de Beethoven" (S. 388). Anton Rubinstein arranged a popular piano version of the march in B major. Sergei Rachmaninoff further arranged Rubinstein's version, heard on piano roll (1928).
An electronic version known as "The Elephant Never Forgets" by electronic music pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey was used as theme for the series "El Chavo del Ocho" broadcast on Mexican television in 1971.