Summer Nights: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Where: The Music Center at Strathmore
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Info: $25 to $55; 410-783-8000; bsomusic.org
In the annals of classical composition, two words identify both composer and his grandest of masterpieces: “The Ninth.”
“The piece stands alone,” said BSO spokesman Jeff Counts of perhaps the most recognizable work in the classical canon. “When you say ‘the Ninth’ everyone knows who and what you’re talking about; it’s a singular work.”
The singular, majestic work, Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9, Choral,” will be performed this Thursday at The Music Center at Strathmore. Internationally renowned conductor, Gunther Herbig will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Choral Arts Society in what is fast becoming an annual presentation.
“That’s the magic of the piece,” Counts added. “It’s one of the few that you can literally do every year and people still come.”
When “Symphony No. 9” premiered in 1824, Beethoven was already completely deaf. It had been determined that maestro Michael Umlauf would conduct alongside Beethoven on the podium. The orchestra naturally followed Umlauf’s count, finishing the piece as Beethoven continued conducting feverishly. It wasn’t until one of the musicians stopped his hands and turned him around that the humbled composer saw the audience’s standing ovation.
They applaud to this day, and for many reasons. The Ninth Symphony was the first of its kind to feature a full chorus.
“The spectacle of the chorus on stage with the symphony is thrilling [and] an amazing sound,” Counts continued. “Composers reserve this pairing of full chorus and orchestra for the grandest and most meaningful themes.”
Beethoven was fond of the poetry of Friedrich Schiller, adapting the writer’s “Ode to Joy” for the Ninth Symphony chorus. The poem defines joy as a state in which “all men are made brothers.” The lyrics are uplifting and universally recognized; so much so that it is the anthem of the European Union.
But there is more to the magic.
“The power and majesty of the Ninth Symphony strike us in a visceral way,” said Tom Hall, director of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. “Its message of hope and brotherhood is a welcome reminder of all that is good about humanity, and it serves as a beacon of possibility in a world that often seems completely broken.”
