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Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Composed: 1824
Premiered: 1824, Vienna
Duration: 1 hour, 5 minutes

To many concertgoers, Beethoven’s Ninth is the crowning achievement, not only of Beethoven’s oeuvre, but of the entire symphonic repertoire. No composer since it was first heard on May 7, 1824, has been able to ignore it, though some have no doubt willfully turned their backs on it. Most churchgoers have sung the tune of the finale (in a rhythmically bowdlerized version) to the words of a hymn, and rock versions occasionally make an appearance. This symphony is often played on occasions of great celebration; every New Year’s Day in Tokyo, several orchestras and choruses perform it simultaneously.

Although the first three movements of the Ninth are on a vast scale, to someone accustomed to the standard forms of the classical symphony, their structures can be readily understood. Where Beethoven’s late string quartets, more or less contemporary with the Ninth, are sometimes enigmatic, this symphony is straightforward and direct, although the very weight of its ideas puts it in a class of its own.

By the time Beethoven first contemplated this symphony, around 1812, his pace of composition had slowed greatly. He wrote to a publisher announcing his intention to compose three new symphonies; the Seventh and Eighth were finished fairly quickly, but as many years separated the Eighth from the Ninth as did the First from the Eighth. A long series of sketches from this period allows us to see Beethoven’s process of refining the thoughts that he eventually incorporated in the final version.

The idea of a choral setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy also goes back a long way; Beethoven appeared to have considered it as early as 1793, although not in the context of a symphony. The words appealed to his democratic vision, with their emphasis on the brotherhood of mankind. Of the long poem, he set only the verses in which these ideas are most directly expressed.

By the time the Ninth came to be written, the Napoleonic wars had come and gone, and the optimistic 18th-century view of the world had been replaced by a much more sombre one. Yet despite his personal griefs and tribulations, Beethoven turned once again to this poem with its message of hope and triumph. The famous tune was also not completely new: Beethoven had written what sounds like an earlier version of it in his Choral Fantasy in 1808. This symphony has been described as the victory of D Major over D Minor, just as in the Fifth C Major vanquishes C Minor.

The decision to use voices in the finale was not taken lightly. There are sketches for an instrumental movement in Beethoven’s notebooks. Once the die was cast, Beethoven adopted an entirely novel solution to the problem of linking the earlier, more conventional movements to the vocal ending. After a clamorous outburst from the full orchestra, quotations from each of the first three movements are rejected one by one by the lower strings in a kind of recitative; they seem to be crying out for voices and words to express their dissatisfaction with the old order. A hint of the great tune is greeted with delight, and after it has been played by the orchestra with several variations, the voices finally join to make their contribution to this tremendous expression of joy.

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Composed: 1824
Premiered: 1824, Vienna
Duration: 1 hour, 5 minutes

To many concertgoers, Beethoven’s Ninth is the crowning achievement, not only of Beethoven’s oeuvre, but of the entire symphonic repertoire. No composer since it was first heard on May 7, 1824, has been able to ignore it, though some have no doubt willfully turned their backs on it. Most churchgoers have sung the tune of the finale (in a rhythmically bowdlerized version) to the words of a hymn, and rock versions occasionally make an appearance. This symphony is often played on occasions of great celebration; every New Year’s Day in Tokyo, several orchestras and choruses perform it simultaneously.

Although the first three movements of the Ninth are on a vast scale, to someone accustomed to the standard forms of the classical symphony, their structures can be readily understood. Where Beethoven’s late string quartets, more or less contemporary with the Ninth, are sometimes enigmatic, this symphony is straightforward and direct, although the very weight of its ideas puts it in a class of its own.

By the time Beethoven first contemplated this symphony, around 1812, his pace of composition had slowed greatly. He wrote to a publisher announcing his intention to compose three new symphonies; the Seventh and Eighth were finished fairly quickly, but as many years separated the Eighth from the Ninth as did the First from the Eighth. A long series of sketches from this period allows us to see Beethoven’s process of refining the thoughts that he eventually incorporated in the final version.

The idea of a choral setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy also goes back a long way; Beethoven appeared to have considered it as early as 1793, although not in the context of a symphony. The words appealed to his democratic vision, with their emphasis on the brotherhood of mankind. Of the long poem, he set only the verses in which these ideas are most directly expressed.

By the time the Ninth came to be written, the Napoleonic wars had come and gone, and the optimistic 18th-century view of the world had been replaced by a much more sombre one. Yet despite his personal griefs and tribulations, Beethoven turned once again to this poem with its message of hope and triumph. The famous tune was also not completely new: Beethoven had written what sounds like an earlier version of it in his Choral Fantasy in 1808. This symphony has been described as the victory of D Major over D Minor, just as in the Fifth C Major vanquishes C Minor.

The decision to use voices in the finale was not taken lightly. There are sketches for an instrumental movement in Beethoven’s notebooks. Once the die was cast, Beethoven adopted an entirely novel solution to the problem of linking the earlier, more conventional movements to the vocal ending. After a clamorous outburst from the full orchestra, quotations from each of the first three movements are rejected one by one by the lower strings in a kind of recitative; they seem to be crying out for voices and words to express their dissatisfaction with the old order. A hint of the great tune is greeted with delight, and after it has been played by the orchestra with several variations, the voices finally join to make their contribution to this tremendous expression of joy.

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.