Symphony No. 9 in D Minor

The idea of writing a symphony in D minor, the key of Mozart’s formidable Requiem, occurred to Beethoven in 1811. But it took him 12 years to complete. It was the ending that gave him the most trouble: would the symphony have a purely orchestral, tragic finale, or a choral movement based on a religious text? Then the choral concept merged with a project he had contemplated for years: a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s hymn to freedom and equality, “Ode to Joy”. But how to justify something as daringly unprecedented as voices in a symphony? Beethoven’s solution was to make the symphony tell a constantly unfolding story, of which the “Ode” would be the culmination. It starts with a magnificently tragic first movement, in which aspiration appears crushed. But then a cosmic-dancelike scherzo introduces the light of hope in its central trio, where the orchestra anticipates the choral writing to come. The tender, beautifully reflective slow movement is interrupted by fanfares, urging the music to action. A fearsome dissonance opens the finale, challenged first by operatic cello and bass recitatives, then, the second time, by a baritone voice: “Oh friends, not these sounds.” This leads to the famous “Ode to Joy” theme, now with the full chorus. A vision of humanity united by “joy” (code for “freedom” in repressive times?) builds to an ecstatic climax, with an orchestral race to the finishing line. Is this an expression of faith in democracy or of desperate hope against hope? Either way, it’s overwhelming.