LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN
AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'
AS PLAYED BY:
Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Op. 125, D Minor “Choral”
Beethoven’s last symphony, Symphony No. 9 marks a triumphant and glorious end. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was completed in 1824 when Beethoven was completely deaf, and was premiered on Friday, May 7, 1824 in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. Beethoven was the first composer to include the human voice at the same level as the instruments. Its text, “An Die Freude” was written by Schiller. When the piece ended, Beethoven, being deaf, was still conducting. The soprano soloist turned him around to accept his applause.
From The New York Times:
The Ninth had its premiere on an ambitious program that included an overture (“The Consecration of the House”) and three sections from the “Missa Solemnis,” Beethoven’s late-period sacred work. This symphony, the longest yet written and the first to include an elaborate choral finale, presented unprecedented technical challenges. The piece was performed by an assembled roster of professional and amateur players and choristers, apparently after just two full rehearsals. It is impossible to imagine that the performance came close to even subpar accounts today.
There was a tumultuous ovation, since Beethoven was a living legend and the sheer impact of this monumental symphony must have been astonishing. One anonymous critic proclaimed that Beethoven, a “son of the gods,” had “brought the holy, life-giving flame directly from heaven.”