Beethoven’s Magnificent Symphony #9

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, orchestral work in four movements by Ludwig van Beethoven, remarkable in its day not only for its grandness of scale but especially for its final movement, which includes a full chorus and vocal soloists who sing a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”). The work was Beethoven’s final complete symphony, and it represents an important stylistic bridge between the Classical and Romantic periods of Western music history. Symphony No. 9 premiered on May 7, 1824, in Vienna, to an overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience, and it is widely viewed as Beethoven’s greatest composition.

The story of the premiere of Symphony No. 9 is widely told and disputed. Beethoven had steadily lost his hearing during the course of the symphony’s composition, and by the time of its premiere he was profoundly deaf.   It has been said, Beethoven never heard a note of his magnificent composition outside his own imagination.

Tickets are $35 per person

Contact: jongoldberg@mainstreetorchestra.org or 202-255-3294