A look at the symphony turning 200 years old. To celebrate, we bring you 5 spectacular interpretations available online, along with key facts about its creation, premiere, and its impact on pop culture. Additionally, we include the link to the signed manuscript of this milestone, one of the most important in the history of music.
The Creation of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, also known as the “Choral Symphony,” is a monumental work that transcends the mere realm of classical music. Composed between 1822 and 1824, Beethoven was then facing the challenge of total deafness. Despite his disability, his creativity and genius knew no bounds. Beethoven had expressed his desire to leave a work that would convey the essence of the human spirit before his departure.
Beethoven’s quest to express joy and human camaraderie is evident in his choice of Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” as the text for the symphony’s final movement. This ode had resonated in the composer’s heart for many years, even appearing in earlier compositions as a kind of premonition of the Ninth.
During the creation of the Ninth, Beethoven explored new dimensions in symphonic music. The earliest sketch containing music that would appear in the Ninth dates back to 1815, when the opening idea of the scherzo occurs as a fugue subject. A commission for a new symphony from the Philharmonic Society in London in 1817 provided further impetus; pages dated from this period contain ideas that were later worked into the first movement. More serious work was done in 1822 with a sketch outlining the melody to which Schiller’s Ode would eventually be sung.
Premiere of the Ninth Symphony
The premiere of the Ninth Symphony took place on May 7, 1824, at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna. Despite his deafness, Beethoven insisted on conducting the work. His performance was described by the chronicles of the time as moving but chaotic, as the composer was out of sync with the orchestra and vocal soloists. In an especially emotional moment, the mezzo-soprano had to turn Beethoven around so he could see the audience’s applause.
5 brilliant interpretations available online
5. Beethoven: 9. Sinfonie ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ MDR Rundfunkchor ∙ Solisten ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada
4. Leonard Bernstein: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in East Berlin 1989 (excerpt) | Carnegie Hall
Beethoven 9 – Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Conducted by Riccardo Muti
2. Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 | Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (complete symphony)
1. Beethoven – Sinfonía No. 9 “Coral” – Orquesta Sinfónica de la NBC, Dirección Arturo Toscanini (3 de abril de 1948)
Beethoven’s autographed score
You can find Beethoven’s autographed score at the Library of Congress of the United States here.
The Revolutionary Ninth
The originality of Beethoven’s vision is undeniable, as is his influence on composers who followed him. Symphonists from Mendelssohn to Mahler, Shostakovich, and Britten learned that the inclusion of text could direct the listener’s attention towards a programmatic or philosophical intention. Wagner also saw the combination of notes and words in the Ninth as seminal to his own conception of musical drama. For this reason, Wagner celebrated the laying of the foundation stone of his new theater in Bayreuth in 1872 with a performance of the Ninth under his own baton.
References in Pop Culture
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has left an indelible mark on popular culture, being used in a variety of films to highlight moments of great significance. For example, Stanley Kubrick masterfully included it in his film “A Clockwork Orange,” where the piece accompanies a crucial scene in the narrative. Similarly, in the movie “Dead Poets Society,” the Ninth Symphony is used to emphasize the pursuit of excellence and the liberation of the human spirit.
