Start the New Year with Beethoven's “Ode to Joy”. The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 is certainly the composer’s masterpiece. Beethoven was almost completely deaf when he wrote it. This 2009 performance of the Ninth at the Prince's Palace of Monaco was given by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo under the direction of Yakov Kreizberg.

(00:00) I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
(15:15) II. Molto vivace
(27:51) III. Adagio molto e cantabile
(42:38) IV. Finale
(48:52) Ode to Joy

CAMILLA NYLUND | Soprano
JANE IRWIN | Alto
PAVOL BRESLIK | Tenor
DAVID WILSON-JOHNSON | Bass

ORCHESTRE PHILHARMONIQUE DE MONTE-CARLO
CHŒUR PHILHARMONIQUE TCHÈQUE DE BRNO
YAKOV KREIZBERG | Conductor

The premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770–1827) Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 took place a good 200 years ago on 7 May 1824 in Vienna. It is one of the best-known works from the common practice period. The Symphony is regarded by many critics and musicologists as one of Beethoven's greatest works and one of the supreme achievements in the history of western music.

The 1st movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 has been called "Eroica revoked:" Unlike the triumphant, heroic mood of Beethoven's Third, the "Eroica," this last symphony from Ludwig van Beethoven begins in a darker, murkier, more pessimistic vein. The music initially seems to come out of nowhere before there’s an explosion of musical material in the final movement.

The second movement of Beethoven's Ninth is a vortex of energy, and it's nearly impossible to avoid being swept up in the flow. It seems as if the symphony orchestra is performing a dizzying dance at a roaring party. Following the swirling forward thrust of the second movement, there’s stasis in the third movement: time seems to come to a halt. This could be Beethoven's depiction of Elysium, paradise, heaven.

This is followed by the fourth movement as a celebration of creation. “Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” (Friends, not these sounds!) sings a baritone, then the vocal soloists, choir and orchestra all join forces in the musical setting of Friedrich Schiller's “Ode to Joy”. It’s an invitation to join the universal kinship of the human family: “Seid umschlungen, Millionen!” (Be embraced, ye millions!). The 9th Symphony was the first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony.

© Karl More Production France / Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo 2010

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