A Guide to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony ('Choral') 

I forgot to say: Join us for a LISTENING PARTY: Beethoven's 9th Symphony - Sunday 20th September, 1pm EST! I'll be there, talking you through the symphony in depth as we all listen to it in sync as a community (And you can write comments too!) Discord link is here - and you'll need Spotify: discord.gg/cEy3Mj8

Its amazing how you bring Young People to classical music..thank you for you work as always🙏🏽

I just listened to the whole 9th by an orchestra playing in my town. Goosebumps all the way and tears when the 4th movement played. A moment in life i will never forget.

We Want a Quick Guide for Beethoven´s Missa Solemnis!!!! xD (By the way great video man)

I think the 4th movement is so famous and so beautiful that it overshadows the other movements. Especially the 3rd movement which to me is 1 of the most beautiful pieces Beethoven ever wrote. In it as well as 1st movement I can hear Beethoven's autobiography. The 3rd movement is more emotional and I can hear Beethoven weeping with teardroos falling but then wipes his tears and decides not to give up. In1st movement he is more angry mostly from his deafness (which I'm not so sure it was accidental? ) so he plays the same theme with full force buy the battle between giving up and hope continues throughout this symphony. I think I've listened to this 9th over 1000 times and am never tired of it. I find new things in it and my favorite is Karajan 1963 performance . I still have the original records and cassette tapes. Later got the CD too. I just dislike ppl playing it too fast . This symphony is full of hints and statements n emotions and every note means something. I could write a book about this symphony and I don't even know a note in music. Thanks for sharing. Sorry wrote too much buy the 9th is the Masterpiece of all masterpieces!

This is actually the only symphony which brings goosebumps to my body and tears to my eyes

The 2nd movement is so underrated

I've been waiting for this, thanks

13:35 the third movement sounds so dreamy and like as if you are alone and you are looking at the sun rising giving the feeling of positivity and that there is more to the world

The third movement is the greatest slow movement ever written. It can alternately drive me to tears of joy and sorrow. And the theme is so fully explored, I could listen to it in repeat and be caught up with a different section each time…

I would love to see something like this for Shostakovich's 11th Symphony. I feel like theres so much there that would make a great video

Absolutely great stuff! I have long thought that if Beethoven had written absolutely nothing except the first *three* movements of this symphony (or even just the slow movement), he still would be a well-known composer. One tiny error -- at 9:05, the tympani are tuned to a pair of Fs.

The recapitulation in the first movement, when done properly, is easily the most powerful moment in music for me.. “Heaven on fire” is an apt description but I also like the quote that it’s “a vision of what the fallen angel might be… One would be dazzled by his radiance although one’s heart would quake with terror!” I like jogging to the first movement for a warm up when working out and then I go into a full-on sprint at the recapitulation 😅 my favorite performance is under conductor Eugene Ormandy with the Philadelphia Philharmonic!ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kHoJfQPJYOg.html

Heard this performed live last year, the experience was electrifying!

3:33 in Our Huge Adventure, in the scene where a sentient trumpet catches the caterpillar, when Quincy said "I cannot believe it!", they had the syllables synced to the eighth notes.

Your videos inspire every kind of people regardless of whether they are professionals or hobby musicians. Thank you for quality videos and I appreciate all your efforts!

Gosh! I am loving this channel more and more!

I'd love to see a similar in-depth analysis on Bruckner's 9th

@Inside the Score, thank you for this amazing, simple explanation. Your description truly makes it easy to understand. What a master, to write Ninth being deaf!!!

I waited for this video! It was great!!!!

What a teacher. This is really valuable

I was waiting this video for along time!!!!! Thanks for uploading!!!!

The second movement usually gets repeated after the trio, in order to convey that even after a humorous moment of joy, we are still so easily emotionally snapped out of it. And back to the emotional drama from before. I’ve always felt that the second half felt darker than the first

Most underrated and undersubbed music channel on RU-vid. I’m not well versed in music theory but your videos make the cool technical aspects of the music so much more accessible

Amazing !

Thank you for this fascinating analysis, actually, while listening to the pieces included in this guide, I noticed that the sounds are so clear and the performance is excellent, I have been listing to so many different recordings of this symphony, and would like to know the one used in these guides please, a link would be wonderful! Thanks

Some tiny errors in the scores: 3:30 the upper line are Horns in Bb and not the trumpets 6:35 last note in the trumpets in D is also a C, not an E 7:50 Horn is in D not in F 9:00 Timpani in F-f (quite unusual at that time)

Kudos to this excellent explained video. Love it. Btw. Which 9th recording is your favorite?

7:42 The "tenebri" has indeed been countless times imitated by other composers, but among them is Beethoven himself. In Mozart's Don Giovanni's Final Act, when the statue of the Commendatore comes alive you can hear the same idea. Spookier than an IRS inspector knocking on your door. I'm number 1 fan of Ludwig, but credit to the "tenebri" idea goes to Mozart.

Simplemente la obra musical mas grandiosa que el genero humano haya logrado crear, mientras más la escucho más me gusta, gracias Ludwig.

I wish you had pointed out that each movement starts off where the last one left off. And each one progresses the melody further

Emerson Lake and Palmer. Turned me on to classical .

I have probably listened to this Symphony over a hundred times. I'll put it on as I go for a walk in the woods. Since there never any insects nor birds, I get to choose my soundtrack. Since the climate is moving into it's Coda, I think it's fitting that I listen to Humankind's greatest masterpiece, n'est-ce pas?

מהנה ותמיד אותי מלמד תודה

Can you link concert this is please? I would love to listen to this version of it in full.

It would be very interesting to see an adendum to this video that covered the controversy of the tempi and the way that different tempi, especially for the second and third movements, completely change the way different passages relate to each other. For example, the theme that "merrily rolls along" in the trio of the second movement is called to be played nearly twice as quickly, which makes the way it relates to the preceding passages very different from the pseudo "relief" that it can feel like played at the more common tempo that Beethoven does not call for. Played at the tempo indicated, it rather propels the piece forward even more, almost bursting into the conclusion, and setting the stage for a third movement which is indicated at a similarly fast pace. This would also allow you to talk about the way that Beethoven creates an opening phrase in the third movement that, played at the indicated tempo, often does not FEEL like it is as "fast" as it actually is. This an astounding and unfortunately underappreciated aspect of Beethoven's genius in the indicated tempi - despite being markedly faster than the piece is typically played, Beethoven writes the opening, blooming chords of the movement in a way that flows to present the chords in a relaxed, unhurried way. Great video, would love to see coverage of the tempi!

Hey, all respect for this video but- I feel from my own experience that it is the sense of discovery and imagination of the listener that is paramount. Each listener should create his own manner of approaching music, without explanation. I listened to the 9th on my own when I was 15 and didn’t need or want anybody to explain it to me. Its all about TONE...as soon as you attach verbal analysis to the sound you are lost. One must become absorbed by tone/sound and let it take you. But thats my opinion. In anycase, if it makes more people listen to Ludwig, then all the power to you.

YESSS FINALY

I don't know what i like more, the second or the fourth movement

just one question: have you heard the recording of the ninth by the Boston Philharmonic?? plus the description of the great Benjamin Zander?? is gonna blow your mind!!

Please let us know which vesion is this please! Great video! Thx

Waaaaaw great

what recording did u use for this?

The horn is in D, not F, as shown in the Coda of the first movement. Please correct the notation.

👏

Let me tell you as a singer.... The choir parts are dreadful. It sits so high all the time and it jumps around and doesn't seem to breathe normally (talking about the phrasing, as a musical phrase). Very few that have sung it, want to do it again. Its fun but you don´t want to do it again. And that soloist quartet towards the end, Jesus christ what a mess that is. But its still the great Beethovens 9th.

First? Also, I really like his video already.

9:05 Timpani should be F' F F

The 2nd movement really reminds me of Mario.

F in the chat, for Windows XP!

Why is this piece too modern but nice?

My ears must be spoiled beyond rotten, because the 9th just sounds absolutely wrong and absurd to me when it's not played at Beethoven's specified tempos. The transition into the Trio is especially wrong to my ears in this recording - the music picks up speed for the Presto that is the Trio but then screechingly applies the brakes to the music and takes the trio at way under Beethoven's indicated tempo.

i cant play the piano, but hey good vid

Ah the symphony that only consists of D and Bb

Yeah, sorry chief. This taught me nothing. I feel like you need a degree in Music Theory to make heads or tails of this vid. I almost have less of an appreciation and understanding of the 9th Symphony now after watching this 😅 I'm paraphrasing here, but... "In this movement, he introduces the theme..." - Okay, so what IS the theme? "In the next movement, a new idea emerges..." - Yeah, so what IS this idea??? What IDEA was he trying to convey??? 🤨🤷‍♂️ "In this later passage, a flurry of emotion rises to the surface" - WHICH EMOTION??? Happiness? Apprehension? Fear? Doubt? Sadness? Or is THAT level of explanation in the other video? 🤔