THE STORY BEHIND: Beethoven's Symphony No.9 (Choral)

On May 7, Leonard Slatkin, Providence Singers, Talise Trevigne, Nina Yoshida Nelsen, Colin Ainsworth, Michael Dean and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra will present Beethoven 9.

THE STORY BEHIND: Beethoven's Symphony No.9 (Choral)

Title: Symphony No.9, op.125, D minor (Choral)
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Last time performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic: Last performed May 10, 2010 with Larry Rachleff conducting, Providence Singers, and soloists Michelle Areyzaga, Susan Lorette Dunn, Aaron Blake and Robert Honeysucker. In addition to a chorus, a solo soprano, alto, tenor and bass, this piece is scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion and strings.

The Story:

The history of the composition of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is among the longest and most interesting of any of his compositions. As early as 1793, Ludwig van Beethoven conceived the idea of setting Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy but did nothing about it. Nearly 20 years later, he made a note among sketches for an “overture” that read, “disjointed fragments from Schiller’s Freude [joy] connected into a whole.” But as yet, there were no musical connections. The Scherzo’s main theme became the first, appearing in a notebook of 1815, although at the time Beethoven was sketching the Cello Sonata, Op. 102. In 1817, he became serious about composing a new symphony, and he sketched the beginning of the Ninth’s first movement. However, the composer did no more until 1822, when he again addressed the first movement and set down plans for the second and fourth movements, including the beginning of the famous Ode to Joy hymn theme. The following year, the symphony crystallized completely. Beethoven finished the sketch by the end of 1823 and completed its orchestration the following February. It had taken the composer more than six years to complete his final symphony, and the total gestation period had exceeded 30 years!
       
The story of the Ninth Symphony’s premiere is a famous one. Because of his deafness, it was impossible for Beethoven to conduct. Instead, Michael Umlauf assumed those honors at the first performance, which took place on May 7, 1824. Beethoven had supervised rehearsals, and during the performance, he was on stage, following it with a score in his own way. Some choral singers omitted the grueling high notes, and the large orchestra could not have performed adequately. Nonetheless, the audience response was resounding. Beethoven, engrossed in his score, did not notice that the performance had ended. A soloist had to nudge and turn him so that he could see the audience applauding and waving handkerchiefs.

What to listen for: The opening of the first movement has often been identified with the Biblical Creation. In this prologue, the quivering string sounds might suggest void and chaos. Notice how the full orchestra gradually gathers itself to make these sounds into an actual theme.
       
We do not know whether Beethoven meant to paint the Creation, but this is certainly his most arresting instrumental opening. If Beethoven implied the world’s beginning at the outset of the movement, the final measures may intimate its end. Annotator Edward Downes suggests that the ending “seems an apocalyptic vision.”
       
The fourfold “hammer strokes” at the opening of the Scherzo movement become the motto for what follows. Notice how this hammer-stroke rhythm persistently returns in all sorts of musical guises. In the middle of the movement, the motto runs headlong into the Presto Trio section. Here, refreshing changes in the music give us a break before a reprise of the main Scherzo. At the movement’s ending, notice the reminiscence of the Trio one last time.

Program Notes by Dr. Michael Fink © 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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