Beethoven Symphony No.9

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 is the last complete symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, it incorporates part of the Ode an die Freude ("Ode To Joy"), a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and a chorus in the last movement. Beethoven had wanted to set Schiller's 'Ode to Joy' to music for many years, and in fact later stated that he had wished to write an alternative instrumental ending to the Ninth Symphony, leaving an interpretation of the 'Ode to Joy' as a separate work. Schiller’s famous words state that in a new age the old ways will no longer divide people and that “all men shall become brothers.” Since its premiere in Vienna in May 1824, performances of the Ninth Symphony have become almost sacramental occasions, as musicians and audiences alike are exhorted to universal fraternity.

The symphony is sometimes referred to as "Choral", pointing to the vocal end of the symphony. This symphony is one of the best known of all works of European classical music, and is considered one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces, composed while he was completely deaf. Due to the universal appeal of this symphony, it is now part of the UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. Further testament to its prominence is that an original manuscript of this work sold in 2003 for 3.3 million U.S. dollars. As the ultimate “feel good” piece, the Ninth has been used at various openings of the Olympic Games, bringing all nations together in song. Its melody is the official anthem of the European Union. The Ninth has also appeared on many solemn occasions. Protestors played the Ninth in Tiananmen Square in Beijing; German students did it too during the fall of the Berlin Wall. There were many performances in the wake of 9/11, when the Ninth was once again enlisted for its universal and hopeful message. The remarkable world-wide broadcast of Leonard Bernstein performing the Ninth in Berlin on Christmas Day 1989, soon after the city’s reuniting, was memorable to many. Leading an international orchestra and chorus made up of musicians from east and west, Bernstein changed Schiller’s text from an “Ode to Joy” (An die Freude) to an “Ode to Freedom” (An die Freiheit). This alteration was certainly appropriate given the circumstances; what many in the audience may not have realized was that freedom exactly captures what the poem is about.

The opening of the first movement (Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso) grows out of a void. Against the murmurings of the low strings emerge falling fifths in the violins that grow to a loud and imposing first theme; it has all been likened to the creation of the. Beethoven switched the expected order of movements by placing the scherzo (Molto vivace) next. It projects both humor and power with the prominent role given to the timpani. The lyrical slow movement (Adagio molto e cantabile) explores more personal, even spiritual realms.

The Presto finale opens with a fanfare, a dissonant and frantic passage that leads to a “recitative” (so marked in the score) for the cellos and basses. Fragments from the previous three movements pass in review—a few measures of the opening theme of each—but are rejected by the strings. After this strange, extended recitative comes the aria: the famous “Ode to Joy” melody to which later will be added words. After some time the movement starts over again—the fanfare returns, but this time is followed by a vocal recitative with the bass soloist singing. The chorus and four vocal soloists take up the “joy” theme, which undergoes a continuing series of variations. The music reaches a climax with a new theme: “Be embraced, ye millions! … Brothers, above the starry canopy there must dwell a loving Father,” which is later combined in counterpoint with the joy theme and eventually builds to a frenzied coda.