On 7 May 1824, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, “Choral”, was premiered at Vienna’s former Kärntnertortheater. Some of the musicians who played at the premiere subsequently became founding members of the Vienna Philharmonic. And it’s this orchestra that performed this special 200th anniversary performance, recorded at Vienna’s Musikverein on 7 May 2024 under the baton of Riccardo Muti.
“The Ninth Symphony has always held a position of particular prominence for our orchestra,” says first violinist and chair of the Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Froschauer. He remembers performing the work with Muti at the 2020 Salzburg Festival, an experience he describes to Apple Music Classical as full of “pure joy and deep artistic understanding”. No doubt that concert inspired the players to invite Muti back for this momentous event.
The orchestra, adds Froschauer, is continually inspired by the Ninth. “The finale with the chorus is overwhelming,” he says, “and Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy’ is a hymn for peace, humanity and fraternity.” And, he adds, in a world torn apart by conflict, “it is more important than ever to perform and think about Beethoven’s music that way.”