Sometimes an ingenious brainwave hits a composer. A piece of music, which leaves everyone in amazement. A loud "bang", an enormous deed across all known boundaries, perplexing all other composers. No other noteworthy symphonies have been written for decades after this masterpiece.
Critics wrote: "The finale is the non plus ultra" and "Who will ever succeed in outdoing this nameless part?". From that time on, every composer was measured by Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9. Symphony. Welcome to klassik shorts.
With his first eight symphonies, Beethoven kept refining the genus until he reached in 1824 the point, when the usual means of musical expressions were no longer sufficient for him. This manifests itself in the length of his symphonies - over an hour, which was extremely long for his time - but particularly in using vocals, the human voice, and text. In our case, he used “Ode to joy” by Friedrich Schiller. By adding a theatrical element, using songs with orchestral music, he caused offence.
For example the opinion of formerly well-known composer Louis Spohr: he thought, the implementation of "Ode to joy" seemed "so trivial, that I can hardly believe a genius like Beethoven put it down in writing."
Beethoven himself had trouble deciding. Only a few months before the premiere he made up his mind to use the choir. Nevertheless, later on he had thoughts of cancelling the vocals and using instruments instead. It almost appears as if Beethoven was afraid of his own boldness.
Of course, the "Ninth" not only consists of the final choir. Prior to it, Beethoven surprises as well.
At the very beginning, the music meanders in descending fifths, like wandering around in mist, nothing seems defined: neither rhythm, key nor melody. It appears like a cosmos, which needs to be adjusted in the course of the entire composition. The chronological order is unusual as well: the slow movement is in third place - not in second. However, Beethoven needed a “haven of peace” before the grand finale of the symphony and the choir.
This is probably the best-known and favorite piece of classical music ever. It is not possible to measure how many people and artists had and have been inspired and influenced by this music. In a slightly modified version, it is now the European Anthem. Even the length of a CD recording is based on the "Ninth". The inventors wanted it to fit on one CD.
At the time when he composed this masterpiece, Beethoven was already completely deaf. At the premiere he stood right in front of the orchestra. His friends had to turn him around to face the audience, so that he could see the applauding and cheering crowd of people, as hearing the applause was no longer possible for him.
It is exhilarating: even though Beethoven was in a poor state of health and his political ideals of Enlightenment vanished, he wrote this life-affirming musical work, celebrating humanism, freedom, equality and fraternity of all people.
Perhaps, he wanted to enforce it with his music. When the music is growing wild and nearly insane in the finale, it resembles a shout in the desert. An enormous hint: above the starry sky, there MUST be a loving father! ALL men shall be brothers!
Presenter: Maximilian Maier
Producer: Michael Wende (wendevarga.wixs...)
Orchestra: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Choir: Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Soloists: Annette Dasch, Elisabeth Kulman, Andrew Staples, Gerald Finley
Conductor: Daniel Harding
© Bayerischer Rundfunk
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"klassik shorts", presented by Maximilian Maier, is a three-minute video format that makes you want to listen to great symphonic works and presents information such as Fun Facts in an entertaining way.
Director Michael Wende supports this pointed style of explaining classical music with video excerpts of central moments of the respective work, but primarily with his unique graphic representations and sound effects.
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8 сен 2024