Beethoven 9 Symphony Analysis
On Christmas Day 1989, the city of Berlin got to enjoy a concert for the ages: the "Ode to Freedom,". A composite event, covering centuries worth of work by the composers Schiller, Beethoven - and Leonard Bernstein. The purpose of the concert was to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall in a way that would be remembered forever. Bernstein had the soloists and chorus sing in the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that truly symbolized freedom, as a gift from the gods to the Germans. Not only the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra was to participate, but musicians from other great orchestras of the world as well: including those from Dresden, St Petersburg, London, New York and Paris. All brought together to achieve the common goal of
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The second movement combines nervous tension and joyous outbursts. It begins with a startling innovation of tympani being used not only in their customary role as rhythmic reinforcement but as a melodic solo. Another major part of the piece was Beethoven's use of silence as a musical element – some bars contain no notes at all. The third movement is the most conventional of the four. Very lovely, dreamlike variations on two complementary themes used to set up the audience for the emotional complexity of the closing movement. Beethoven takes unrelated and random ideas and throws them together into a structure that's not only thoroughly cohesive but absolutely enriched by the diversity of its components. The finale begins with a bitter and confused sounding outburst of winds and brass to clear the air, which is following the soft contentment of the leisurely adagio. Then the orchestra does small parts of the prior three movements while being interrupted and rejected by the celli and basses. The orchestra later harmonizes and repeats the initial statement four times toward a climax. Voices now finally enter. A solo baritone states what the orchestra suggested.
This performance is a staggeringly bold and effective mix of disparate elements. Beethoven makes sure the most intriguing part is at the end – a brief and bizarre, coda with a different and new tempo and theme that he leaves it open-ended, as if to say that, having put so much effort into this, all the inspiration he could possibly have is a preparation for something even better. He leaves us wondering what others could grasp from it. He ends his greatest work not with a some huge and exciting conclusion but rather an open-ended
The second movement combines nervous tension and joyous outbursts. It begins with a startling innovation of tympani being used not only in their customary role as rhythmic reinforcement but as a melodic solo. Another major part of the piece was Beethoven's use of silence as a musical element – some bars contain no notes at all. The third movement is the most conventional of the four. Very lovely, dreamlike variations on two complementary themes used to set up the audience for the emotional complexity of the closing movement. Beethoven takes unrelated and random ideas and throws them together into a structure that's not only thoroughly cohesive but absolutely enriched by the diversity of its components. The finale begins with a bitter and confused sounding outburst of winds and brass to clear the air, which is following the soft contentment of the leisurely adagio. Then the orchestra does small parts of the prior three movements while being interrupted and rejected by the celli and basses. The orchestra later harmonizes and repeats the initial statement four times toward a climax. Voices now finally enter. A solo baritone states what the orchestra suggested.
This performance is a staggeringly bold and effective mix of disparate elements. Beethoven makes sure the most intriguing part is at the end – a brief and bizarre, coda with a different and new tempo and theme that he leaves it open-ended, as if to say that, having put so much effort into this, all the inspiration he could possibly have is a preparation for something even better. He leaves us wondering what others could grasp from it. He ends his greatest work not with a some huge and exciting conclusion but rather an open-ended