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Beethoven 9 – Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Riccardo Muti

This paper discusses Beethoven Ninth Symphony per omened by Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Riccardo Muti. The paper accomplishes this goal by focusing on five key areas including Beethoven’s background, the genre name, analysis, description, and opinion.

Beethoven’s Background

Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German pianist and composer generally perceived as one of the greatest musical intellects of all time. Beethoven’s innovative masterpieces integrated vocals and instruments, broadening the range of quarter, symphony, and concerto. Beethoven is the vital transitional character linking the Classical and Romantic periods of western music. A battle against deafness marked Beethoven’s life, and most of his crucial works were written amid the last ten years of his life when he was deaf (Schindler, 2020). He died aged sixty-five years.

Symphony No. 9 Genre Name

            Ninth Symphony is a choral symphony in D Minor, Op. 125 written between 1822 and 1824.

Analysis

Beethoven lived during the Enlightenment age when massive transformation in Europe happened because individuals questioned if customary institutions, practices, and morals were right. Beethoven was stirred by the equality and liberty ideals that were evident amid the French Revolution, and his Symphony No. 9 commends the brotherhood and fraternity principles (Rehding, 2018). On May 7, 1824, Beethoven conducted the Ninth Symphony himself, comprised of the massive orchestra, soloists, and chorus. Symphony No. 9 is roughly seventy minutes long and is comprised of four movements. 

Description

The instrumentation comprises cymbals, contrabassoon, strings, bass drums, chorus, triangle, piccolo, two bassoons, timpani, two flutes, four horns, two clarinets, two trumpets, two oboes, and three trombones. The initial movement through Classical sonata amazes the audience   by escalating to a fortissimo climax in the harmonically erratic demonstration section and then deferring a return to the home key. The second movement shifts to the scherzo, and the third movement is restful, practically prayerful adagio. The fourth movement develops from a calm start into a nervy finale of “Ode to Joy” as the musical form becomes variations in an extensive sonata-form arrangement. During the “Ode to Joy” conclusion, the orchestra sang with exciting refinement of sound and with impressively distinct and loud diction of Schiller’s German text.

Opinion

This performance was an excellent triumph. The symphony concluded in a frenzy, bringing forth prompt shouts of approval from the audience, which rose to their feet to give a standing ovation.