From the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has served as a symbol of hope and unity for 200 years. Bronwen Everill examines the piece’s legacy through five key performances
The symphony bursts into life Theater am Kärntnertor, Vienna, Austrian empire7 MAY 1824
When Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Ninth Symphony in the early months of 1824, he gave voice to humanity’s desire to make order out of chaos, to overcome division, and to create joy through brotherhood. Over his lifetime, the wars and revolutions that shook Europe had transformed politics – and now the composer wanted to offer a cultural transformation through his music.
Beethoven had first begun writing his last, great masterpiece – the world’s first choral symphony – after receiving a commission from London’s Philharmonic Society in the November of 1822. But although London had commissioned the work, admirers in Vienna published an open letter calling for Beethoven to premiere the symphony there instead.
Vienna was the ideal location for the piece’s first outing. As well as being familiar territory for the composer (he had lived there on and off for much of his adult life), the capital had also been the setting for the 1814–15 Congress of Vienna – the series of diplomatic meetings that had sought to create a lasting peace after the Napoleonic Wars. The symphony’s final movement – requiring the services of four vocal soloists and a full chorus – had been written to include words from Friedrich Schiller’s 1785 poem An die Freude (‘Ode to Joy’), and its message of “all men becoming brothers” thus felt fitting.
But despite the piece’s bold statements, the first performance was informal by modern standards. Vienna did not have its own concert hall in 1824, and Beethoven was instead restricted to using the modest Theater am Kärntnertor. Furthermore, many of the performers were amateurs rather than professionals, and there was only time for two full rehearsals before the symphony received its premiere on 7 May 1824.
The performance could have easily been a disaster, but when the final movement reached its conclusion, the theatre was filled with the sounds of applause – even if Beethoven did not initially realise it himself. According to violinist Joseph B
