Although the Choral Fantasy and the Ninth Symphony are often linked, it was Beethoven’s Mass in C Major—composed in 1807 for the name day of Prince Nicholas II Esterházy’s wife—that provided the initial impetus for the composition. Beethoven had been trying for some time to win the prince’s favor and hoped that the Mass would accomplish the task. Unfortunately, his composition was not well-received. The prince thought the mass was “utterly ridiculous and detestable.” At the reception following the premiere, he bluntly asked, “My dear Beethoven, what is it you have done here?”  

Apparently unperturbed by the prince’s reaction, Beethoven began negotiating to have the Mass published, and also decided to perform it on December 22, 1808, on the same program that featured the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and the Fourth Piano Concerto. For the event’s grand finale, he composed the Choral Fantasy—a work that begins with piano and then brings in the orchestra, vocal soloists, and finally the chorus. The piece didn’t provide quite the climactic ending for which Beethoven had hoped, however; the orchestra apparently became confused, and Beethoven, who was conducting from the piano, had to stop and restart the piece. 

Today, we hear the Choral Fantasy as a precursor to the Ninth Symphony—and indeed, there are many parallels. Like the Ninth, the piece begins with an improvisatory-like section. In the Choral Fantasy, Beethoven literally improvised the opening on the piano, writing it down only when the work was published. (Cues in the soloist part suggest that Beethoven intended the Choral Fantasy to be conducted from the piano, though today it is often not performed that way). Also similar to the Ninth Symphony, the orchestra part consists of an imaginative set of variations. Finally, the soloists and chorus enter with a melody and text similar in spirit and sound to the famous Ode to Joy, the conclusion of Beethoven’s final symphony.