On May 7th, 1824, in Vienna, Austria, the musical world changed forever.
The assembled crowd in the Kärntnertor Theater heard one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary musical performances in history.
The only person in attendance who did not hear the performance was Ludwig van Beethoven.
We stumbled on The Story of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by Gary Arndt here. You can either listen to it or read the transcript. It is about ten minutes long.
I have long loved the 9th, thought by many to be the greatest symphonic composition ever. Orchestras often use it to open their seasons, which is how I stumbled upon it as we attended the Colorado Symphony some years ago. Ode to Joy is the National Anthem of the European Union. Japan on New Year’s Eve has as many as fifty presentations going on, with lay people allowed to join the chorus.
The chorus. Up until 1824, choral performances and symphonies were never combined. But when I saw the 9th, there were 300 singers and a 100-piece orchestra. You can imagine the music that filled the house.
The composer Richard Wagner made an important change to the presentation when he led the playing of the 9th in Germany: He moved the chorus to behind the orchestra, which is how it has been done ever since. I cannot imagine seeing all the singers in front of the players.
There’s lots of interesting details in Arndt’s piece, but this one was most interesting:
In the early 80s, Sony and Phillips had both developed digital storage formats which could be read by lasers. However, their formats had some serious differences. They came together to try to hammer out a standard that both companies could agree on.
The key point of contention was the size of the disc. Mainly, if it should be 11.5 cm in diameter or 12 cm.
The defining piece of music which was used to determine the length of a CD was Beethoven’s 9th. The longest version of the symphony they could find was 74 minutes, so 74 minutes became the standard for the CD.
Supposedly, it was the wife of Sony’s CEO Akio Morita, who was a strong advocate of getting the entire 9th symphony on a single disc.
So the size of CDs in the twentieth century was determined by Beethoven in the nineteenth. Who knew?
I have heard the 9th played by many orchestras, including a world assembly of talent in Berlin on Christmas Day in 1989 celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. I listened to that one day on the local classical music station while driving, and went home and ordered the CD. I noticed deeper chords and better singers. The event was conducted by Leonard Bernstein, who also brought in a children’s chorus to join the mix. In the fourth movement as Ode to Joy fills the auditorium, Bernstein jumps high in the air, at least as high as a 71-year-old man can jump. The excitement is palpable. Says Ardnt,
If you’ve never sat down and listened to the entire 9th symphony, I’d recommend it. It is now readily available on every music streaming service, and there are several versions on YouTube.
If you ever get the chance to see a performance live, I especially recommend it. It will be something you’ll never forget.
Piece of Mindful 
The 9th is magnificent. I’ve had the privilege of singing it with orchestra and chorus on a few occasions, and it’s exhilarating when the chorus enters – sort of like a rocket taking off.
I remember seeing Robert Shaw conduct it with the Atlanta Symphony many moons ago, and was seated up front, facing the soloists. It was interesting watching their facial expressions while they were seated quietly during the orchestral part. One looked out confidently, one looked emotionally disturbed, and the other two somewhere between those extremes. But when the chorus launched they all lit up as if on fire.
The Missus Solemnis is a much more demanding choral work, but can’t match the pure “joy” of the 9th.
Thanks for the article!
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I like to watch certain players while the music is going on, for instance, the percussionists while the Colorado Symphony is going on. They do not have much to do but have to be ready at all times. A clarinetist also catches my eye, as she is very attractive and the male players around her are very aware of her. As am I, I must admit. But with the children’s chorus during the Bernstein Ninth in 1989, I looked over the faces as the cameras scanned them, and wondered how many of them were thinking “Man I have to pee!” A lot of sitting and waiting for a kid. I like what you say about the four soloists, trying to gauge them as they sit and wait through three and a half movements.
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I know this is not the right thread for it but anyway.
Look at this picture I found at reddit, showing Robert de Niro’s ears changing over his career:
https://ibb.co/h9Bn8ST
It looks extremely suspicious to me – that is not a profile of the same person. What do you think, Mark?
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I have a difficult time with profiles as there is no reliable frame of reference, as there are with pupils from the front view. But I must say that Mr. De Niro has put on a lot of new cartilage in the ear area. It’s natural for all of us but my goodness it’s usually just the lobes not the entire ear. I will look at it tomorrow, and thanks for the photos. Today I am a veggie.
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And his nose also – it seems as two different persons. I do realize many decades have passed in between these two photos but anyway, the shape of the nose should’ve been the same regardless of the age.
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Ears and nose continue to grow as you age. I’m no student of the process, ha, but it looks plausible to me that this is normal aging..
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Seems more plausible to me that you’re in denial.
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Yes, oh dear lord, don’t take my Robert de Niro away from me! That’s a bridge too far… Lol
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I still have not done the work here … getting to it. My suspicion just based on past experience … same guy in both-photos. We will see.
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Well, we’re waiting.
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OK, without any work: Same guy.
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I’m tellin’
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And his nose also – it seems as two different persons. I do realize many decades have passed in between these two photos but anyway, the shape of the nose should’ve been the same regardless of the age.
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