Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

Last updated

Symphony No. 9
Choral symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ninth Symphony original.png
A page (leaf 12 recto) from Beethoven's manuscript
Key D minor
Opus 125
Period Classical-Romantic (transitional)
Text Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy"
LanguageGerman
Composed1822–1824
DedicationKing Frederick William III of Prussia
Durationabout 65 to 70 minutes
MovementsFour
Scoring Orchestra with SATB chorus and soloists
Premiere
Date7 May 1824 (1824-05-07)
Location Theater am Kärntnertor, Vienna
Conductor Michael Umlauf and Ludwig van Beethoven
PerformersKärntnertor house orchestra, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde with soloists: Henriette Sontag (soprano), Caroline Unger (alto), Anton Haizinger (tenor), and Joseph Seipelt (bass)

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and musicologists as a masterpiece of Western classical music and one of the supreme achievements in the history of music. [1] [2] One of the best-known works in common practice music, [1] it stands as one of the most frequently performed symphonies in the world. [3] [4]

Contents

The Ninth was the first example of a major composer scoring vocal parts in a symphony. [5] The final (4th) movement of the symphony, commonly known as the Ode to Joy, features four vocal soloists and a chorus in the parallel key of D major. The text was adapted from the "An die Freude (Ode to Joy)", a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803, with additional text written by Beethoven. In the 20th century, an instrumental arrangement of the chorus was adopted by the Council of Europe, and later the European Union, as the Anthem of Europe. [6]

In 2001, Beethoven's original, hand-written manuscript of the score, held by the Berlin State Library, was added to the Memory of the World Programme Heritage list established by the United Nations, becoming the first musical score so designated. [7]

History

Composition

The Philharmonic Society of London originally commissioned the symphony in 1817. [8] Beethoven made preliminary sketches for the work later that year with the key set as D minor and vocal participation also forecast. The main composition work was done between autumn, 1822 and the completion of the autograph in February, 1824. [9] The symphony emerged from other pieces by Beethoven that, while completed works in their own right, are also in some sense forerunners of the future symphony. The Choral Fantasy, Op. 80, composed in 1808, basically an extended piano concerto movement, brings in a choir and vocal soloists for the climax. The vocal forces sing a theme first played instrumentally, and this theme is reminiscent of the corresponding theme in the Ninth Symphony.

Going further back, an earlier version of the Choral Fantasy theme is found in the song "Gegenliebe" ("Returned Love") for piano and high voice, which dates from before 1795. [10] According to Robert W. Gutman, Mozart's Offertory in D minor, "Misericordias Domini", K. 222, written in 1775, contains a melody that foreshadows "Ode to Joy". [11]

Premiere

Although most of Beethoven's major works had been premiered in Vienna, the composer planned to have his latest compositions performed in Berlin as soon as possible, as he believed he had fallen out of favor with the Viennese and the current musical taste was now dominated by Italian operatic composers such as Rossini. [12] When his friends and financiers learned of this, they pleaded with Beethoven to hold the concert in Vienna, in the form of a petition signed by a number of prominent Viennese music patrons and performers. [12]

Theater am Karntnertor in 1830 Karntnertortheater 1830.jpg
Theater am Kärntnertor in 1830

Beethoven, flattered by the adoration of the Viennese, premiered the Ninth Symphony on 7 May 1824 in the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna along with the overture The Consecration of the House (Die Weihe des Hauses) and three parts (Kyrie, Credo and Angus Dei) of the Missa solemnis . This was Beethoven's first onstage appearance since 1812 and the hall was packed with an eager and curious audience with a number of noted musicians and figures in Vienna including Franz Schubert, Carl Czerny, and the Austrian chancellor Klemens von Metternich. [13] [14]

The premiere of the Ninth Symphony involved an orchestra nearly twice as large as usual [13] and required the combined efforts of the Kärntnertor house orchestra, the Vienna Music Society (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde), and a select group of capable amateurs. While no complete list of premiere performers exists, many of Vienna's most elite performers are known to have participated. [15] [16]

The soprano and alto parts were sung by two famous young singers of the day, both recruited personally by Beethoven: Henriette Sontag and Caroline Unger. German soprano Henriette Sontag was 18 years old when Beethoven asked her to perform in the premiere of the Ninth. [17] [18] 20-year-old contralto Caroline Unger, a native of Vienna, had gained critical praise in 1821 appearing in Rossini's Tancredi . After performing in Beethoven's 1824 premiere, Unger then found fame in Italy and Paris. Italian opera composers Bellini and Donizetti were known to have written roles specifically for her voice. [19] Anton Haizinger and Joseph Seipelt sang the tenor and bass/baritone parts, respectively.

Portrait of Beethoven in 1824, the year his Ninth Symphony was premiered. He was almost completely deaf by the time of its composition. Beethoven 6.jpg
Portrait of Beethoven in 1824, the year his Ninth Symphony was premiered. He was almost completely deaf by the time of its composition.
Caroline Unger, who sang the contralto part at the first performance and is credited with turning Beethoven to face the applauding audience CarolineUngher.jpg
Caroline Unger, who sang the contralto part at the first performance and is credited with turning Beethoven to face the applauding audience

Although the performance was officially conducted by Michael Umlauf, the theatre's Kapellmeister, Beethoven shared the stage with him. However, two years earlier, Umlauf had watched as the composer's attempt to conduct a dress rehearsal for a revision of his opera Fidelio ended in disaster. So this time, he instructed the singers and musicians to ignore the almost completely deaf Beethoven. At the beginning of every part, Beethoven, who sat by the stage, gave the tempos. He was turning the pages of his score and beating time for an orchestra he could not hear. [20]

There are a number of anecdotes concerning the premiere of the Ninth. Based on the testimony of some of the participants, there are suggestions that the symphony was under-rehearsed (there were only two complete rehearsals) and somewhat uneven in execution. [21] On the other hand, the premiere was a great success. In any case, Beethoven was not to blame, as violinist Joseph Böhm recalled:

Beethoven himself conducted, that is, he stood in front of a conductor's stand and threw himself back and forth like a madman. At one moment he stretched to his full height, at the next he crouched down to the floor, he flailed about with his hands and feet as though he wanted to play all the instruments and sing all the chorus parts. – The actual direction was in [Louis] Duport's [n 1] hands; we musicians followed his baton only. [22]

Reportedly, the scherzo was completely interrupted at one point by applause. Either at the end of the scherzo or the end of the symphony (testimonies differ), Beethoven was several bars off and still conducting; the contralto Caroline Unger walked over and gently turned Beethoven around to accept the audience's cheers and applause. According to the critic for the Theater-Zeitung, "the public received the musical hero with the utmost respect and sympathy, listened to his wonderful, gigantic creations with the most absorbed attention and broke out in jubilant applause, often during sections, and repeatedly at the end of them." [23] The audience acclaimed him through standing ovations five times; there were handkerchiefs in the air, hats, and raised hands, so that Beethoven, who they knew could not hear the applause, could at least see the ovations. [24]

Editions

The first German edition was printed by B. Schott's Söhne (Mainz) in 1826. The Breitkopf & Härtel edition dating from 1864 has been used widely by orchestras. [25] In 1997, Bärenreiter published an edition by Jonathan Del Mar. [26] According to Del Mar, this edition corrects nearly 3,000 mistakes in the Breitkopf edition, some of which were "remarkable". [27] David Levy, however, criticized this edition, saying that it could create "quite possibly false" traditions. [28] Breitkopf also published a new edition by Peter Hauschild in 2005. [29]

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for the following orchestra. These are by far the largest forces needed for any Beethoven symphony; at the premiere, Beethoven augmented them further by assigning two players to each wind part. [30]

Form

The symphony is in four movements. The structure of each movement is as follows: [32]

Reception

The symphony was dedicated to the King of Prussia, Frederick William III. [52]

Music critics almost universally consider the Ninth Symphony one of Beethoven's greatest works, and among the greatest musical works ever written. [1] [2] The finale, however, has had its detractors: "Early critics rejected [the finale] as cryptic and eccentric, the product of a deaf and ageing composer." [1] Verdi admired the first three movements but lamented what he saw as the bad writing for the voices in the last movement:

The alpha and omega is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, marvellous in the first three movements, very badly set in the last. No one will ever approach the sublimity of the first movement, but it will be an easy task to write as badly for voices as in the last movement. And supported by the authority of Beethoven, they will all shout: "That's the way to do it..." [53]

Giuseppe Verdi, 1878

Performance challenges

Handwritten page of the fourth movement Beethoven Ninth Symphony.png
Handwritten page of the fourth movement

Metronome markings

Conductors in the historically informed performance movement, notably Roger Norrington, [54] have used Beethoven's suggested tempos, to mixed reviews. Benjamin Zander has made a case for following Beethoven's metronome markings, both in writing [27] and in performances with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra of London. [55] [56] Beethoven's metronome still exists and was tested and found accurate, [57] but the original heavy weight (whose position is vital to its accuracy) is missing and many musicians have considered his metronome marks to be unacceptably high. [58]

Re-orchestrations and alterations

A number of conductors have made alterations in the instrumentation of the symphony. Notably, Richard Wagner doubled many woodwind passages, a modification greatly extended by Gustav Mahler, [59] who revised the orchestration of the Ninth to make it sound like what he believed Beethoven would have wanted if given a modern orchestra. [60] Wagner's Dresden performance of 1864 was the first to place the chorus and the solo singers behind the orchestra as has since become standard; previous conductors placed them between the orchestra and the audience. [59]

2nd bassoon doubling basses in the finale

Beethoven's indication that the 2nd bassoon should double the basses in bars 115–164 of the finale was not included in the Breitkopf & Härtel parts, though it was included in the full score. [61]

Ino Savini [it] conducting the Ninth Symphony at the Rivoli Theatre in Porto, Portugal (1955) Ino Savini (Porto 25-05-1955) dirige L. v. Beethoven Sinfonia N.9.jpg
Ino Savini  [ it ] conducting the Ninth Symphony at the Rivoli Theatre in Porto, Portugal (1955)

Notable performances and recordings

The British premiere of the symphony was presented on 21 March 1825 by its commissioners, the Philharmonic Society of London, at its Argyll Rooms conducted by Sir George Smart and with the choral part sung in Italian. The American premiere was presented on 20 May 1846 by the newly formed New York Philharmonic at Castle Garden (in an attempt to raise funds for a new concert hall), conducted by the English-born George Loder, with the choral part translated into English for the first time. [62] Leopold Stokowski's 1934 Philadelphia Orchestra [63] and 1941 NBC Symphony Orchestra recordings also used English lyrics in the fourth movement. [64]

Richard Wagner inaugurated his Bayreuth Festspielhaus by conducting the Ninth; since then it is traditional to open each Bayreuth Festival with a performance of the Ninth. Following the festival's temporary suspension after World War II, Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra reinaugurated it with a performance of the Ninth. [65] [66]

Leonard Bernstein conducted a version of the Ninth Symphony at the Konzerthaus Berlin with Freiheit (Freedom) replacing Freude (Joy), to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall during Christmas of 1989. [67] This concert was performed by an orchestra and chorus made up of many nationalities: from East and West Germany, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Chorus of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Philharmonischer Kinderchor Dresden (Philharmonic Children's Choir Dresden); from the Soviet Union, members of the orchestra of the Kirov Theatre; from the United Kingdom, members of the London Symphony Orchestra; from the US, members of the New York Philharmonic; and from France, members of the Orchestre de Paris. Soloists were June Anderson, soprano, Sarah Walker, mezzo-soprano, Klaus König, tenor, and Jan-Hendrik Rootering, bass. [68] Bernstein conducted the Ninth Symphony one last time with soloists Lucia Popp, soprano, Ute Trekel-Burckhardt, contralto, Wiesław Ochman, tenor, and Sergej Kopčák  [ Wikidata ], bass, at the Prague Spring Festival [69] with the Czech Philharmonic and Prague Philharmonic Choir  [ cs; de ] in June 1990; he died four months later in October of the same year.

In 1998, Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa conducted the fourth movement for the 1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, with six different choirs simultaneously singing from Japan, Germany, South Africa, China, the United States, and Australia. [70]

In 1923, the first complete recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was made by the acoustic recording process and conducted by Bruno Seidler-Winkler. The recording was issued by Deutsche Grammophon in Germany; the records were issued in the United States on the Vocalion label. The first electrical recording of the Ninth was recorded in England in 1926, with Felix Weingartner conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, issued by Columbia Records. The first complete American recording was made by RCA Victor in 1934 with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Since the late 20th century, the Ninth has been recorded regularly by period performers, including Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.[ citation needed ]

The BBC Proms Youth Choir performed the piece alongside Georg Solti's UNESCO World Orchestra for Peace at the Royal Albert Hall during the 2018 Proms at Prom 9, titled "War & Peace" as a commemoration to the centenary of the end of World War One. [71]

At 79 minutes, one of the longest Ninths recorded is Karl Böhm's, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in 1981 with Jessye Norman and Plácido Domingo among the soloists. [72]

Influence

Plaque at building Ungargasse No. 5, Vienna. "Ludwig van Beethoven completed in this house during the winter of 1823/24 his Ninth Symphony. In memory of the centenary of its first performance on 7 May 1824 the Wiener Schubertbund dedicated this memorial plaque to the master and his work on 7 May 1924." Haus-UngargasseNr5-Tafel2.jpg
Plaque at building Ungargasse No. 5, Vienna. "Ludwig van Beethoven completed in this house during the winter of 1823/24 his Ninth Symphony. In memory of the centenary of its first performance on 7 May 1824 the Wiener Schubertbund dedicated this memorial plaque to the master and his work on 7 May 1924."

Many later composers of the Romantic period and beyond were influenced by the Ninth Symphony.

An important theme in the finale of Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C minor is related to the "Ode to Joy" theme from the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. When this was pointed out to Brahms, he is reputed to have retorted "Any fool can see that!" Brahms's first symphony was, at times, both praised and derided as "Beethoven's Tenth".

The Ninth Symphony influenced the forms that Anton Bruckner used for the movements of his symphonies. His Symphony No. 3 is in the same key (D minor) as Beethoven's 9th and makes substantial use of thematic ideas from it. The slow movement of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 uses the A–B–A–B–A form found in the 3rd movement of Beethoven's piece and takes various figurations from it. [73]

In the opening notes of the third movement of his Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), Antonín Dvořák pays homage to the scherzo of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with his falling fourths and timpani strokes. [74]

Béla Bartók borrowed the opening motif of the scherzo from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to introduce the second movement (scherzo) in his own Four Orchestral Pieces, Op. 12 (Sz 51). [75] [76]

Michael Tippett in his Third Symphony (1972) quotes the opening of the finale of Beethoven's Ninth and then criticises the utopian understanding of the brotherhood of man as expressed in the Ode to Joy and instead stresses man's capacity for both good and evil. [77]

In the film The Pervert's Guide to Ideology , the philosopher Slavoj Žižek comments on the use of the Ode by Nazism, Bolshevism, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the East-West German Olympic team, Southern Rhodesia, Abimael Guzmán (leader of the Shining Path), and the Council of Europe and the European Union. [78]

Compact disc format

One legend is that the compact disc was deliberately designed to have a 74-minute playing time so that it could accommodate Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. [79] Kees Immink, Philips' chief engineer, who developed the CD, recalls that a commercial tug-of-war between the development partners, Sony and Philips, led to a settlement in a neutral 12-cm diameter format. The 1951 performance of the Ninth Symphony conducted by Furtwängler was brought forward as the perfect excuse for the change, [80] [81] and was put forth in a Philips news release celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Compact Disc as the reason for the 74-minute length. [82]

TV theme music

The Huntley–Brinkley Report used the opening to the second movement as its theme music during the run of the program on NBC from 1956 until 1970. The theme was taken from the 1952 RCA Victor recording of the Ninth Symphony by the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini. [83] A synthesized version of the opening bars of the second movement were also used as the theme for Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC and Current TV. [84] A rock guitar version of the "Ode to Joy" theme was used as the theme for Suddenly Susan in its first season. [85]

Use as (national) anthem

Use as a hymn melody

In 1907, the Presbyterian pastor Henry van Dyke Jr. wrote the hymn "Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee" while staying at Williams College. [89] The hymn is commonly sung in English-language churches to the "Ode to Joy" melody from this symphony. [90]

Year-end tradition

The German workers' movement began the tradition of performing the Ninth Symphony on New Year's Eve in 1918. Performances started at 11 p.m. so that the symphony's finale would be played at the beginning of the new year. This tradition continued during the Nazi period and was also observed by East Germany after the war. [91]

The Ninth Symphony is traditionally performed throughout Japan at the end of the year. In December 2009, for example, there were 55 performances of the symphony by various major orchestras and choirs in Japan. [92] It was introduced to Japan during World War I by German prisoners held at the Bandō prisoner-of-war camp. [93] Japanese orchestras, notably the NHK Symphony Orchestra, began performing the symphony in 1925 and during World War II; the Imperial government promoted performances of the symphony, including on New Year's Eve. In an effort to capitalize on its popularity, orchestras and choruses undergoing economic hard times during Japan's reconstruction performed the piece at year's end. In the 1960s, these year-end performances of the symphony became more widespread, and included the participation of local choirs and orchestras, firmly establishing a tradition that continues today. Some of these performances feature massed choirs of up to 10,000 singers. [94] [93]

WQXR-FM, a classical radio station serving the New York metropolitan area, ends every year with a countdown of the pieces of classical music most requested in a survey held every December; though any piece could win the place of honor and thus welcome the New Year, i.e. play through midnight on January 1, Beethoven's Choral has won in every year on record. [95]

Other choral symphonies

Prior to Beethoven's ninth, symphonies had not used choral forces and the piece thus established the genre of choral symphony. Numbered choral symphonies as part of a cycle of otherwise instrumental works have subsequently been written by numerous composers, including Felix Mendelssohn, Gustav Mahler, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Charles Ives among many others.

Other ninth symphonies

The scale and influence of Beethoven's ninth led later composers to ascribe a special significance to their own ninth symphonies, which may have contributed to the cultural phenomenon known as the curse of the ninth. A number of other composers' ninth symphonies also employ a chorus, such as those by Kurt Atterberg, Mieczysław Weinberg, Edmund Rubbra, Hans Werner Henze, and Robert Kyr. Anton Bruckner had not originally intended his unfinished ninth symphony to feature choral forces, but the use of his choral Te Deum in lieu of the uncompleted Finale was supposedly sanctioned by the composer. [96] Dmitri Shostakovich had originally intended his Ninth Symphony to be a large work with chorus and soloists, although the symphony as it eventually appeared was a relatively short work without vocal forces. [97]

Of his own Ninth Symphony, George Lloyd wrote: "When a composer has written eight symphonies he may find that the horizon has been blacked out by the overwhelming image of Beethoven and his one and only Ninth. There are other very good No. 5s and No. 3s, for instance, but how can one possibly have the temerity of trying to write another Ninth Symphony?" [98] Niels Gade composed only eight symphonies, despite living for another twenty years after completing the eighth. He is believed to have replied, when asked why he did not compose another symphony, "There is only one ninth", in reference to Beethoven. [99]

Related Research Articles

Robert Wilfred Levick Simpson was an English composer, as well as a long-serving BBC producer and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)</span> Symphony by Gustav Mahler

The Symphony No. 2 in C minor by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection Symphony, was written between 1888 and 1894, and first performed in 1895. This symphony was one of Mahler's most popular and successful works during his lifetime. It was his first major work that established his lifelong view of the beauty of afterlife and resurrection. In this large work, the composer further developed the creativity of "sound of the distance" and creating a "world of its own", aspects already seen in his First Symphony. The work has a duration of 80 to 90 minutes, and is conventionally labelled as being in the key of C minor; the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians labels the work's tonality as C minor–E major. It was voted the fifth-greatest symphony of all time in a survey of conductors carried out by the BBC Music Magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 8 (Beethoven)</span> 1812 musical composition by Beethoven

The Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 is a symphony in four movements composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1812. Beethoven fondly referred to it as "my little Symphony in F", distinguishing it from his Sixth Symphony, a longer work also in F.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 4 (Beethoven)</span>

The Symphony No. 4 in B major, Op. 60, is the fourth-published symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was composed in 1806 and premiered in March 1807 at a private concert in Vienna at the town house of Prince Lobkowitz. The first public performance was at the Burgtheater in Vienna in April 1808.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 1 (Sibelius)</span> Symphony in four movements by Jean Sibelius

The Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, is a four-movement work for orchestra written from 1898 to 1899 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in 1939, and first performed in Leningrad on November 5, 1939 by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)</span> 1800 symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The piece was published in 1801 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel of Leipzig. It is not known exactly when Beethoven finished writing this work, but sketches of the finale were found to be from 1795.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String Quartet No. 12 (Beethoven)</span>

Ludwig van Beethoven completed his String Quartet No. 12 in E major, Op. 127, in 1825. It is the first of his late quartets. Commissioned by Nicolas Galitzin over a year earlier, the work was not ready when it was scheduled to premiere. When it was finally premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet, it was not well received. Only with subsequent performances by the Bohm Quartet and the Mayseder Quartet did it begin to gain public appreciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 9 (Schubert)</span> Symphony by Franz Schubert

The Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944, known as The Great, is the final symphony completed by Franz Schubert. It was first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1849 as "Symphonie / C Dur / für großes Orchester" and listed as Symphony No. 8 in the New Schubert Edition. Originally called The Great C major to distinguish it from his Symphony No. 6, the Little C major, the subtitle is now usually taken as a reference to the symphony's majesty. Unusually long for a symphony of its time, a typical performance of The Great lasts around one hour when all repeats indicated in the score are taken. The symphony was not professionally performed until a decade after Schubert's death in 1828.

An unfinished symphony is a fragment of a symphony that is left incomplete or unfinished. The reason as of why and the state of the sketches themselves can vary considerably. The death of the composer is the most common cause for a symphony to be left unfinished, but it can also be abandoned due to lack of progress, frustration or general uninterest. Even when a piece is complete, parts of it may be lost later on, thus technically making the work "unfinished" even if the composer actually completed it. Sketches can range from a few notes and motives, to complete works in short score or unorchestrated manuscripts. When a symphony is left unfinished, it may remain in that state or be completed through various means.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)</span> Symphony in four movements composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff

The Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27, is a four-movement composition for orchestra written from October 1906 to April 1907 by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The premiere was performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on 26 January 1908, with the composer conducting. Its duration is approximately 60 minutes when performed uncut; cut performances can be as short as 35 minutes. The score is dedicated to Sergei Taneyev, a Russian composer, teacher, theorist, author, and pupil of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece remains one of the composer's most popular and best known compositions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 9 (Bruckner)</span> Symphony by Anton Bruckner

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109, is the last symphony on which Anton Bruckner worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896; Bruckner dedicated it "to the beloved God". The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 3 (Bruckner)</span>

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D minor, WAB 103, was dedicated to Richard Wagner and is sometimes known as his "Wagner Symphony". It was written in 1873, revised in 1877 and again in 1889.

The Symphony in C major by German composer Robert Schumann was published in 1847 as his Symphony No. 2, Op. 61, although it was the third symphony he had completed, counting the B-flat major symphony published as No. 1 in 1841, and the original version of his D minor symphony of 1841. It is dedicated to Oscar I, king of Sweden and Norway.

<i>Choral Fantasy</i> (Beethoven) Musical composition by Ludwig van Beethoven

The Fantasy for piano, vocal soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra, Op. 80, usually called the Choral Fantasy, was composed in 1808 by then 38-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Prout</span> English musical theorist, writer, teacher and composer

Ebenezer Prout was an English musical theorist, writer, music teacher and composer, whose instruction, afterwards embodied in a series of standard works still used today, underpinned the work of many British classical musicians of succeeding generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choral symphony</span> Musical composition for orchestra and choir

A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir, and sometimes solo vocalists that, in its internal workings and overall musical architecture, adheres broadly to symphonic musical form. The term "choral symphony" in this context was coined by Hector Berlioz when he described his Roméo et Juliette as such in his five-paragraph introduction to that work. The direct antecedent for the choral symphony is Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's Ninth incorporates part of the ode An die Freude, a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer's use of the human voice on the same level as instruments in a symphony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)</span> Musical composition by Ludwig van Beethoven

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, also known as the Fate Symphony, is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music. First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as "one of the most important works of the time". As is typical of symphonies during the Classical period, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has four movements.

The Austrian composer Anton Bruckner composed eleven symphonies, the first, the Symphony in F minor in 1863, the last, the unfinished Ninth symphony from 1893 to 1896.

The Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 39, is the second piano concerto by the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera. The work was commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for the pianist Hilde Somer, to whom the concerto is dedicated. It was first performed by Somer and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Izler Solomon on March 22, 1973.

References

Notes

  1. Presumably, Böhm meant the conductor Michael Umlauf.
  2. The score specifies baritone, [31] performance practice often uses a bass.
  3. The second column of bar numbers refers to the editions in which the finale is subdivided. Verses and choruses are numbered in accordance with the complete text of Schiller's "An die Freude"

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cook 1993 , Product description (blurb). "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is acknowledged as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Western tradition. More than any other musical work it has become an international symbol of unity and affirmation."
  2. 1 2 Service, Tom (9 September 2014). "Symphony guide: Beethoven's Ninth ('Choral')". The Guardian . the central artwork of Western music, the symphony to end all symphonies
  3. "Lansing Symphony Orchestra to perform joyful Beethoven's 9th" by Ken Glickman, Lansing State Journal , 2 November 2016
  4. "Beethoven's Ninth: 'Ode to Joy'" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Great Falls Symphony, 2017/18 announcement
  5. Bonds, Mark Evan, "Symphony: II. The 19th century", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition (London: Macmillan, 2001), 29 vols. ISBN   0-333-60800-3, 24:837.
  6. "European Anthem". Europa . Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  7. "Memory of the World (2001) – Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 9, D minor, Op. 125".
  8. Solomon, Maynard. Beethoven. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997, p. 251.
  9. Breitkopf Urtext, Beethoven: Symphonie Nr. 9 d-moll Archived 1 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine , op. 125, pbl.: Hauschild, Peter, p. VIII
  10. Hopkins 1981, p. 249.
  11. Robert W. Gutman, Mozart: A Cultural Biography, 1999, p. 344
  12. 1 2 Sachs 2010 , p. [ page needed ]
  13. 1 2 Levy 2003 , p. [ page needed ]
  14. Patricia Morrisroe "The Behind-the-Scenes Assist That Made Beethoven's Ninth Happen" New York Times December 8, 2020. access date March 12, 2020
  15. Kelly, Thomas Forrest (2000). First Nights: Five Musical Premiers (Chapter 3). Yale University Press, 2001.
  16. Patricia Morrisroe "The Behind-the-Scenes Assist That Made Beethoven's Ninth Happen " New York Times December 8, 2020. access date March 12, 2020
  17. Elson, Louis, Chief Editor. University Musical Encyclopedia of Vocal Music. University Society, New York, 1912
  18. Life of Henriette Sontag, Countess de Rossi. New York: Stringer & Townsend. 1852.
  19. Kennedy, Michael and Bourne, Joyce (1996). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press, 2007.[ page needed ]
  20. Cook 1993b, p. [ page needed ].
  21. Sachs 2010 , p. 22
  22. Cook 1993 , p. 22
  23. Cook 1993 , p. 23
  24. Sachs 2010 , pp. 23–24
  25. Del Mar, Jonathan (July–December 1999). "Jonathan Del Mar, New Urtext Edition: Beethoven Symphonies 1–9". British Academy Review. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  26. "Ludwig van Beethoven The Nine Symphonies The New Bärenreiter Urtext Edition". Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  27. 1 2 Zander, Benjamin. "Beethoven 9 The fundamental reappraisal of a classic". Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  28. "Concerning the Review of the Urtext Edition of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony". Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  29. "Beethoven The Nine Symphonies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2008.
  30. Thayer, Alexander Wheelock. Thayer's Life of Beethoven. Revised and edited by Elliott Forbes. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 905.
  31. Score, Dover Publications 1997, p. 113
  32. IMSLP score.
  33. Noorduin 2021.
  34. Jackson 1999, 26;[ incomplete short citation ] Stein 1979, 106[ incomplete short citation ]
  35. Young, John Bell (2008). Beethoven's Symphonies: A Guided Tour . New York: Amadeus Press. ISBN   978-1574671698. OCLC   180757068.
  36. Cook 1993b , p. 28
  37. Schenker 1992, p. 89.
  38. Schenker 1992, p. 93.
  39. Schenker 1992, p. 97.
  40. Cook 1993b , p. 30
  41. 1 2 3 4 Cohn, Richard L. (1992). "The Dramatization of Hypermetric Conflicts in the Scherzo of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony". 19th-Century Music. 15 (3): 188–206. doi:10.2307/746424. ISSN   0148-2076. JSTOR   746424 . Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  42. Beethoven Forum. University of Nebraska Press. 1994. p. 69. ISBN   978-0-8032-4246-3 . Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  43. Ericson, John (10 April 2010). "The Natural Horn and the Beethoven 9 "Controversy"". Horn Matters | A French Horn and Brass Site and Resource | John Ericson and Bruce Hembd. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  44. Cook 1993b , p. 36
  45. Cook 1993b, p. 34
  46. Cook 1993b , p. 35
  47. 1 2 Rosen, Charles. The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven . p. 440. New York: Norton, 1997.
  48. "Beethoven Foundation – Schiller's "An die Freude" and Authoritative Translation". Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  49. The translation is taken from the BBC Proms 2013 programme, for a concert held at the Royal Albert Hall (Prom 38, 11 August 2013). This concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and later on BBC4 television on 6 September 2013, where the same translation was used as subtitles.
  50. 1 2 3 4 Buch 2003, p. [ page needed ].
  51. "An die Freude" (Beethoven), German Wikisource
  52. Solomon, Maynard (April 1975). "Beethoven: The Nobility Pretense". The Musical Quarterly . 61 (2): 272–294. doi:10.1093/mq/LXI.2.272. JSTOR   741620.
  53. Letter of April 1878 in Giuseppe Verdi: Autobiografia delle Lettere, Aldo Oberdorfer ed., Milano, 1941, p. 325.
  54. Norrington, Roger (14 March 2009). "In tune with the time". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  55. "Concert: Beethoven 9th, Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall" by Bernhard Holland, The New York Times, 11 October 1983
  56. Recording of the Beethoven 9th with Benjamin Zander, Dominique Labelle, D'Anna Fortunato, Brad Cresswell, David Arnold, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and Chorus Pro Musica.
  57. Schuller, Gunther (10 December 1998). The Compleat Conductor. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-984058-8.
  58. Sture Forsén, Harry B. Gray, L. K. Olof Lindgren, and Shirley B. Gray. October 2013. "Was Something Wrong with Beethoven's Metronome?", Notices of the American Mathematical Society 60(9):1146–53.
  59. 1 2 Raymond Holden, "The iconic symphony: performing Beethoven's Ninth Wagner's Way" The Musical Times , Winter 2011
  60. Bauer-Lechner, Natalie: Erinnerungen an Gustav Mahler, p. 131. E.P. Tal & Co. Verlag, 1923
  61. Del Mar, Jonathan (1981) Orchestral Variations: Confusion and Error in the Orchestral Repertoire London: Eulenburg Books, p. 43
  62. Keller, James M. "Notes on the Program" (PDF). New York Philharmonic. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
  63. "Stokowski conducts Beethoven : Symphony no. 9 ('Choral')", recorded April 30, 1934. OCLC   32939031
  64. "NBC Symphony Orchestra. 1941-11-11: Symphony no. 9, in D minor, op. 125 (Choral)", NBC broadcast from Cosmopolitan Opera House (City Center). OCLC   53462096
  65. Philips. "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony of greater importance than technology". Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2007.
  66. AES. "AES Oral History Project: Kees A.Schouhamer Immink" . Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  67. Makell 2002, p. 98.
  68. Naxos (2006). "Ode To Freedom – Beethoven: Symphony No. 9". Naxos.com Classical Music Catalogue. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
  69. Symphony No. 9, Leonard Bernstein at Prague Spring 1990 on YouTube
  70. "The XVIII Winter Games: Opening Ceremonies; The Latest Sport? After a Worldwide Effort, Synchronized Singing Gets In" by Stephanie Strom, The New York Times , 7 February 1998
  71. "Prom 9: War & Peace". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  72. Gronow, Pekka; Saunio, Ilpo (26 July 1999). International History of the Recording Industry. London: A&C Black. p. 195. ISBN   978-0-3047-0590-0.
  73. Taruskin, Richard (2010). Music in the Nineteenth Century. The Oxford History of Western Music. Vol. 3. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 747–751. ISBN   978-0-19-538483-3.
  74. Steinberg, Michael. The Symphony: A Listeners Guide. p. 153. Oxford University Press, 1995.
  75. Howard, Orrin. "About the Piece | Four Orchestral Pieces, Op. 12". Los Angeles Philharmonic. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  76. Bartók, Béla (1912). 4 Pieces, Op. 12 – Violin I – (Musical Score) (PDF). Universal Edition. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  77. Matthews 1980, p. 93.
  78. Slavoj Žižek (7 September 2012). The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (Motion picture). Zeitgeist Films.; Jones, Josh (26 November 2013). "Slavoj Žižek Examines the Perverse Ideology of Beethoven's Ode to Joy". Open Culture . Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  79. Victoria Longdon (3 May 2019). "Why is a CD 74 minutes long? It's because of Beethoven". Classic FM . Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  80. K. A. Schouhamer Immink (2007). "Shannon, Beethoven, and the Compact Disc". IEEE Information Theory Society Newsletter. 57: 42–46. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  81. K.A. Schouhamer Immink (2018). "How we made the compact disc". Nature Electronics . 1. Retrieved 16 April 2018. An international collaboration between Philips and the Sony Corporation lead to the creation of the compact disc. The author explains how it came about
  82. Brian Mitchell (16 August 2007). "Philips Celebrates 25th Anniversary of the Compact Disc". ecoustics.com. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  83. "Huntley–Brinkley Report Theme". networknewsmusic.com. 20 September 1959. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  84. ""Countdown with Keith Olbermann" (MSNBC) 2003 – 2011 Theme". Network News Music. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  85. Fretts, Bruce (15 November 1996). "TV Show Openings". EW.com . Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  86. "The European Anthem". europa.eu. 16 June 2016.
  87. "Rhodesia picks Ode to Joy", Vancouver Sun , 30 August 1974
  88. "Opinion | South Africa Poaches on Europe's Anthem". The New York Times. 24 November 1991.
  89. van Dyke, Henry (2004). The Poems of Henry van Dyke. Netherlands: Fredonia Books. ISBN   1410105741.
  90. Rev. Corey F. O'Brien, "November 9, 2008 sermon" at North Prospect Union United Church of Christ in Medford.
  91. "Beethovens 9. Sinfonie – Musik für alle Zwecke – Die Neunte und Europa: "Die Marseillaise der Menschheit" Archived 8 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine , by Niels Kaiser, hr2, 26 January 2011 (in German)
  92. Brasor, Philip, "Japan makes Beethoven's Ninth No. 1 for the holidays", The Japan Times , 24 December 2010, p. 20, retrieved on 24 December 2010; Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
    Uranaka, Taiga, "Beethoven concert to fete students' wartime sendoff", The Japan Times, 1 December 1999, retrieved on 24 December 2010. Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  93. 1 2 "How World War I made Beethoven's Ninth a Japanese New Year's tradition". The Seattle Times . 30 December 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  94. "10,000 people sing Japan's Christmas song". BBC News . Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  95. https://www.wqxr.org/story/2021-classical-countdown/ N. B. Links to previous years' countdowns can be found at the link in the reference.
  96. "Bruckner's Te Deum: A Hymn of Praise". The Listeners' Club. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  97. Fay, Laurel E. Shostakovich: A life. Oxford University Press, 2000.
  98. "George Lloyd: Symphonies Nos 2 & 9" . Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  99. Henriques, Robert (1891). Niels W. Gade (in Danish). Copenhagen: Studentersamfundets Førlag [Student Society]. p. 23. OCLC   179892774.

Sources

Further reading

Scores, manuscripts and text

Analysis

Audio

Video

Other material