Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 is the last complete symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, it includes part of the ode An die Freude ("Ode To Joy") by Friedrich Schiller, as text sung by soloists and a chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer using the human voice on the same level with instruments in a symphony.

History

Writing of the symphony

The work was originally commissioned in 1817 by the Philharmonic Society of London (later the Royal Philharmonic Society). Beethoven supposedly started work on his last symphony in 1822 and finished it early in 1824. This was about 10 years after his eighth symphony, however Beethoven was working on this work much earlier. Beethoven wanted to put the An die Freude to music as early as 1793. He did that as a song, but unfortunately that song has been lost forever. The theme for the scherzo can be traced back to a fugue written in 1815.

Related Topics:
1817 - Royal Philharmonic Society - 1822 - 1824 - 1793 - 1815

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The introduction for the vocal part of the symphony caused a lot of headaches for Beethoven. Beethoven's friend, Anton Schindler, later said: "When he started working on the fourth movement the struggle began as never before. The aim was to find an appropriate way of introducing Schillers' ode. At one day he entered the room and shouted 'I got it, I got it!' Then he showed me a sketchbook with the words 'let us sing the ode of the immortal Schiller'". That introduction didn't make it however, and Beethoven would spend a lot of time rewriting the part until it had its current form.

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Premiere

Beethoven was eager to get his work played in Vienna as fast as possible when he finished writing. He was equivocal, however, thinking also that the musical taste in Vienna was stricken by Italian composers such as Rossini. When his friends and financiers heard this they urged him to premiere the symphony in Vienna.

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The Ninth Symphony was premiered May 7, 1824 in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. The conductor was Michael Umlauf, the musical director of the theater, who was assisted by the composer standing at his side. The work was premiered along with the overture Die Weihe des Hauses and the first three parts of the Missa solemnis.

Related Topics:
May 7 - 1824 - Kärntnertortheater - Michael Umlauf

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There are a number of anecdotes about the premiere of the Ninth. Based on the testimony of the participants, there are suggestions that it was under-rehearsed (there were only two full rehearsals) and rather scrappy in execution. On the other hand, the premiere was a big success. In any case, Beethoven was not to blame, as violist Josef Bohm recalled, "Beethoven directed the piece himself, that is: he stood before the lectern and gesticulated furiously. At times he raised, at other times he shrunk to the ground, he moved as if he wanted to play all the instruments himself and sing for the whole chorus. All the musicians minded his rhythm alone while playing".

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At the conclusion of the performance Beethoven had to be forcibly turned around to accept the audience's cheers and applause. According to one witness, "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."

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