Composer Spotlight: Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, famous for its setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem “An die Freude” (“To Joy”) premiered 200 years ago, on May 7, 1824. The choral symphony, Beethoven’s final large-scale work, ranks as one of the greatest works in classical repertoire. Due in part to the “Ode to Joy” chorus, the enduring appeal of the Ninth Symphony reaches far beyond the walls of concert halls, marking historical moments, end-of-year celebrations, and important occasions, in addition to permeating popular culture on many levels.
Beethoven had been fascinated with Schiller’s poem, written in summer 1785, for more than 30 years when he composed his brilliant, revolutionary masterwork. The composer first referenced the task in a letter he wrote when he was 23 years old and included portions of the poem in his only opera Fidelio, which he wrote and revised over the course of a decade, beginning in 1804. In a sketchbook dated 1811, Beethoven envisions a cantata combining choral and instrumental movements based on Schiller’s poem. For the famous musical setting in his Ninth Symphony, Beethoven used a slightly revised version of “An die Freude,” published in 1808, three years after Schiller’s death.
By the time Beethoven began to compose the Ninth Symphony in summer 1822, he was profoundly deaf and emotionally and socially isolated. Despite his deafness, the composer insisted on conducting the symphony’s premiere at the Kärntnerthor Theater in Vienna. Beethoven was famously unaware of the thunderous ovation his symphony received from the packed house until one of the musicians physically turned him to see the cheering audience members.
In composing the Ninth, Beethoven created a groundbreaking work and one of unprecedented size and complexity. With his musical setting of Schiller’s “To Joy,” Beethoven meshes musical and literary works. The structure, emotional range, and harmonic experimentation of the Ninth were also new. Most importantly, Beethoven integrates human voices into a symphony for the first time, a startling innovation. Taken together, in composing the Ninth, Beethoven forever changed the character and direction of classical music.
EXTRA CREDIT READING: Since its premiere in 1824, “Ode to Joy,” with its messages of hope, unity, and fellowship, has served as an anthem for protest and peace. One of the more famous moments occurred on Christmas Day 1989, when Leonard Bernstein led a celebratory performance to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall six weeks earlier. Conducting musicians from East and West Germany and four Allied powers (United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union), Bernstein substituted the word “Freiheit” (“freedom”) for “Freude” (“Joy”) to reflect his personal message.
Learn more about our upcoming Dueling Keyboards concert on October 25, 2024.