Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 Essay Example

style, he created innovative symphonies, concerts, and quartets that helped him quickly gain fame during the middle stage of his life.

While Beethoven was deeply engaged in creating new compositions, his hearing gradually worsened. This affected both his music and social life as he found it increasingly difficult to attend public events and maintain relationships with others. Surprisingly, during this period of hardship, the talented musician also faced challenges in his romantic relationships.

Although Beethoven was musically gifted, he struggled with connecting and communicating with women. He held the belief that they couldn't comprehend him, which made it difficult for him to pursue romantic relationships. Furthermore, several of the women he had affections for were either wedded or held a higher social rank than himself. Nevertheless, despite facing setbacks in his profession, Beethoven persevered and regained success by composing multiple symphonies such as Erotica Symphony No.

Beethoven produced an impressive range of music during this time, encompassing symphonies, piano and violin concerts, operas, works for orchestras, sonatas and string quartets. These compositions were widely considered to be his greatest accomplishment and solidified his position as the foremost musician of his period. As a result, he gained increased recognition both as a public figure and as a highly esteemed contributor to the field of music. It is noteworthy that he created three symphonies in tribute to Napoleon while also completing symphonies no. 5, 6, 7 and 8.

(NP) Beethoven's hearing loss posed great obstacles, rendering him almost entirely deaf. As a result, he encountered considerable difficulty in performing and eventually ceased composing altogether. His letters to his brothers attest to the frustration and disappointment he felt during this time,

as he believed that his life's work had reached its conclusion. Despite not producing new music, Beethoven made ends meet through past compositions and symphonies. Yet these funds proved inadequate, plunging him into deeper financial turmoil.

Regrettably, Ludwig Van Beethoven - who is commonly regarded as the most talented musician ever - passed away on March 26, 1827 due to his ill health and inability to pay for medical treatment. However, his extraordinary musical works persist as proof of his enduring impact. Among them, my preferred composition is Beethoven Symphony No. 9, which I will examine more closely today.

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral" by Ludwig van Beethoven is a celebrated Romantic music masterpiece that was finalized in 1824. It features a part of Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy," which is sung by soloists and chorus during the last movement. This symphony is remarkable for its vast extent and for being the initial instance of an eminent composer integrating the human voice at the same level as instruments within a symphony, creating a precedent for the Romantic symphonic form. Additionally, it is favored as a study option due to its impressive sounds.

Wikipedia states that Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 carries great cultural significance globally, evidenced by the fact that the fourth movement, also called the Ode to Joy, was rearranged by Herbert von Karajan and adopted as the official anthem of the European Union. Additionally, in 2003, an original manuscript of the symphony sold for $3 million, highlighting its enduring impact.

Sotheby's in London sold the symphony that was commissioned by the Philharmonic Society of London in 1817 for $3 million. Dr. Stephen Roe,

head of Sotheby's manuscripts department, regarded it as one of humanity's greatest achievements and likened it to Shakespeare's Hamlet and King Lear.

It took Beethoven six years to complete his final symphony in 1824, which he began composing in 1818. However, there are signs that he had been captivated by the Ode to Joy much earlier, and even created a musical interpretation of it as far back as 1793 - twenty-five years before incorporating it into Symphony No. 9.

(JB) Beethoven encountered challenges in his symphony when he added an introduction for the vocal part, influenced by a fugue he wrote in 1815. This was a groundbreaking addition to symphonies at that time. The difficulty peaked during the fourth movement's creation, according to Anton Schindler, who was Beethoven's friend.

Wikipedia states that the goal was to discover an appropriate way to present Schiller's ode. Beethoven arrived one day and declared that he had found it, presenting a sketchbook with the words "let us sing the ode of the immortal Schiller". However, this introduction did not make its way into the final piece. Beethoven spent significant time modifying it until it settled on its current form. On May 7, 1824, Vienna's Karntnertortheater hosted the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It marked his first stage performance in twelve years and drew many attendees to the theater. Although Michael Umlauf officially directed as Kapellmeister of the theatre, Beethoven shared his spot onstage with him.

During a dress rehearsal of his opera Fidelio two years prior, Beethoven's attempt at conducting resulted in disaster, as noted by Umlauf. Therefore, for this particular performance, he instructed the singers and musicians to disregard Beethoven's deafness and

to rely on his instructions for tempo. Beethoven sat by the stage and turned the pages of his score while beating time for an orchestra he could not hear. Despite being several measures off, Beethoven continued conducting until the audience applauded, reported to be either at the end of the scherzo or the end of the whole symphony.

Caroline Unger rotated Beethoven to face the audience, who applauded and cheered the musical hero with utmost respect and sympathy. Throughout the performance, the audience listened with absorbed attention and erupted in jubilant applause, including during sections and repeatedly at the end of them. They cheered him through standing ovations five times, raising handkerchiefs, hats and hands. Although deaf, Beethoven could see the ovation gestures. The theatre had never seen such enthusiasm in applause. The witness was in awe upon finding only a few examples of this remarkable event, which included Beethoven's Symphony No.

Even in the 21st century, 9 still lives on and can be seen in various examples, such as the Ode to Joy being chosen as the main theme for the Austrian commemorative coin for the European Anthem on May 11, 2005. This coin's reverse depicts the theater am Karntnertor, where the Ode to Joy was originally performed in public.

The coin features a portrait of Beethoven along with the opening notes of the symphony mentioned earlier. The Council of Europe adopted the Ode to Joy as Europe's anthem in 1972, with an official orchestral arrangement by Herbert von Karajan. The European Union also chose Beethoven's music as its anthem in 1985, without German lyrics because of the variety of languages used in the EU. The

fourth movement was performed at numerous Olympic Games during the second half of the 20th century, as part of ceremonial processions and as the national anthem of the United Team of East and West Germany in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Summer Olympics. It was also used as the anthem for the Unified Team of the former USSR during the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. In 1989, Leonard Bernstein conducted a performance of the ninth symphony in Berlin to celebrate the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.

Schiller's poem has been modified into "Ode to Freedom" by substituting every occurrence of "joy" with "freedom". The symphony is well-received in Japan and is frequently played during the new year festivities held in December. Wendy Carlos produced an electronic rendition of the symphony that encompasses both the second and fourth movements, which was utilized in A Clockwork Orange film. Alex DeLarge, the movie's lead character, is a passionate admirer of Beethoven and often listens to this symphony.

Throughout the years, the Ode to Joy melody has been incorporated into diverse cultural works. References to the melody can be found in Help, the second Beatles film. In 1974, Rhodesia adopted the song as their national anthem under the title Rise O Voices of Rhodesia. Die Hard, a popular movie from 1988, also utilized this beloved melody. Following the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Leonard Slatkin conducted The BBC Symphony Orchestra during The Proms where they performed the ninth symphony as part of a revised programme. Additionally, since NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report in the 1950s, six notes from its introduction have been featured

in various NBC News programs.

The Huntley-Brinkley Report featured a longer segment on the movement during its end credits. This section still remains on MSNBC and is remixed for Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Additionally, FM stations that play classical music tend to broadcast Beethoven's 9th Symphony less often than his other symphonies. For instance, KVOD, Denver's PBS FM station, aired the 9th Symphony only three times in 2006 while his other symphonies were broadcasted as follows: 1(29), 2(29), 3(21), 4(23), 5(30), 6(30), 7(28) and 8(31).

The film "Equilibrium" starts with the Ninth Symphony and portrays a society devoid of emotions and art. The agent tasked with enforcing these regulations comes across a vinyl recording of the symphony and becomes overwhelmed with emotion upon hearing it - having never encountered music before. Additionally, hymnals contain Henry Van Dyke's 1907 lyrics to "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee," sung to the tune of "Ode to Joy."

Beethoven's remarkable work had a widespread impact across the globe, demonstrated through various means such as over thirty two notable recordings, Felix Weingartner's conducting of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1935 and Osmo Vanska's conducting of the Minnesota Orchestra as part of an ongoing Beethoven symphonies complete set in 2007. Despite Symphony No. 9 being my preferred composition by Beethoven, its influence has been significant on a global scale. (KTB)

Beethoven composed this piece despite his virtual deafness and inability to conduct it, making it his most renowned and frequently played work.