After Hermann Scherchen and René Leibowitz, Gielen was one of the first conductors to take Beethoven’s metronome markings seriously. He took advantage of two invitations from German broadcasting organisations to establish himself in 1970 as the most radical innovator regarding Beethoven interpretations. The 1980 Eroica production with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra was the first for a long time to be based on Beethoven’s metronome markings: these were applied throughout and more consistently than ever before. Little wonder that the recording became quite famous.