Born on December 16, 1770, in Bonn (now part of Germany); died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
Molto vivace
Adagio molto e cantabile
Presto - Allegro assai - Allegro assai vivace
Composed: 1822-24 (drawing on sketches dating back to 1817)
Estimated length: 65 - 70 minutes
First performance: May 7, 1824, in Vienna, Austria.
First Nashville Symphony performance: April 18, 1950, with William Strickland conducting at the Ryman Auditorium.
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is more than just a cornerstone of classical music—it set the stage for the very idea of the modern symphony orchestra. While ensembles dedicated to concert music existed sporadically in cities like Paris and London, the idea of permanent, professional symphony orchestras only became the norm after Beethoven’s time.
When the Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna on May 7, 1824, the audience knew they were witnessing something extraordinary. This Friday evening concert marked Beethoven’s first public appearance in over a decade, just three years before his death. Remarkably, the orchestra and choir had managed only two full rehearsals for the massive work.
In the Ninth, Beethoven expanded the techniques of his predecessors into uncharted territory. The symphony’s final movement famously incorporates Friedrich Schiller’s 1785 poem Ode to Joy, a poem celebrating universal brotherhood on the eve of the French Revolution. Beethoven had envisioned setting it to music since the 1790s.
Yet the Ninth is about far more than its rousingly joyful finale. The first movement ranks among the most overpowering musical expressions of tragedy—or even apocalypse, depending on your interpretation. And what to make of the Scherzo, with its primordial energy and strange rhythmic insistence? Where does the unearthly, transcendent beauty of the Adagio fit into the bigger picture of a work whose destination is supposed to be a toast to “Joy”?
“Some enshrine it, others attempt to tear it down,” writes David Benjamin Levy in his study of the Ninth Symphony and its background. Yet “the mountain remains,” he continues, “and, as is the case with revelation itself, the essential truth of the Ninth Symphony can be neither proven nor disproven. Coming to terms with the work involves a kind of leap of faith.”
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
At the outset, Beethoven imagines a new way of beginning a musical work that has left its mark on subsequent generations of composers. Musical fragments coalesce until, with a mighty increase in force, Beethoven hammers them together to create the titanic main theme. Even the lyrical grace of the contrasting second theme (which foreshadows the “Joy” melody) gets swept away in the tempestuous surge of Beethoven’s developing ideas. The suspenseful closing section ratchets up the tension even more.
The scherzo is positioned second rather than third—the only time in his nine symphonies that Beethoven chose this order for the internal movements. Its driving rhythms again suggest colossal forces at play. With the Adagio, Beethoven sustains a serene flow through a series of alternating variations on two themes cast in different keys and tempos. This lofty music presents some of Beethoven’s most enraptured moments of contemplation.
Until this point, Beethoven has more or less followed the Classical model of a four-movement symphony—though with expanded proportions and an intensity of language whose only precedent can be found in his own previous symphonies. By incorporating the human voice in the final movement, the Ninth boldly ventures into territory that is new for the symphony.
A terrifying chord ushers in the finale, plunging us back into the primordial sonic chaos with which the Ninth Symphony began—but with a shocking note of violence. The orchestra reflects on earlier ideas, but the low strings reject these as dead ends. Gradually, the instruments chart a path forward by presenting and layering the “Joy” theme with ever-brighter colors. But just as hope seems within reach, the chord of terror returns, casting doubt.
Suddenly, a solo baritone commands attention, issuing an urgent plea to embrace the theme of joy—a theme intertwined with unity, solidarity, love, and the transcendent. Beethoven did not simply supply music to accompany Schiller’s words but reshaped and adapted the original, even adding his own lines (including the baritone’s opening declaration).
From this dramatic entry point, the immense finale unfolds as variations on the “Joy” theme—even including moments of unexpected humor, such as the contrabassoon’s gruff interjection after a thrilling choral climax. This is followed by a variation featuring the solo tenor in precariously high range, accompanied by clanging cymbals and shrill piccolo—sounds that evoked European stereotypes of
a Turkish military band.
Beethoven introduces a contrasting theme that conveys sacred awe, evoking a divine presence “beyond the starry firmament.” Drawing on techniques from the past that he learned from Handel’s oratorios, for example, he weaves these diverse ideas into a unified whole. In an age marked by disillusionment, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony feels more urgently needed than ever.
Scored for 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, and strings, along with solo vocal quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) and four-part chorus (voices in the fourth movement only)
− Thomas May is the Nashville Symphony's program annotator.
Featured on Beethoven's Ninth: Ode to Joy — February 6 to 8, 2024
Nashville Symphony & Chorus
Nicholas Hersh, conductor
Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director
Ellie Dehn, soprano
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo soprano
Alek Shrader, tenor
David Leigh, bass
Back