Ludwig Van Beethoven By Sausha Sommers Symphony #9 Movement 4

Biography Composition History Listening Guide References and Bibliography Beethoven’s 9 th Symphony

Biography of Ludwig Van Beethoven Born: December 16, 1770 in the city of Bonn in the Electorate of Cologne, the Holy Roman Empire Baptized: December 17, 1770 Had 2 younger brothers Died: March 26, 1827

Learning to play music… His father, Johann Van Beethoven, abused him at a young age, while teaching him to play music. But he had his friend, Stephen and his family.

Influences & Premiere Freidrich Schiller gave the influence for the chorus part of the 4 th movement. Church influences, musical styles of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras. The first premiere of Symphony #9 was on May 7, 1824 The first premiere was in Venice.

Listening Guide to Beethoven’s 9 th Symphony Movement #4 0:00-7:48 This section is the Recitativo section. It starts out with a dissonant chord. It was like pressing down on all of the white keys of a piano. That is the first 11 seconds of the music, very ugly sounding for the introduction. After 11 seconds it becomes the recitativo.

7:48-11:34 Introduction to Ode to Joy theme vocals. This is where we finally hear the voices of the choir. BEAUTIFUL. The Ode to Joy theme words are translated from German so we can see what they are saying. When he says, before God. Before God, this is a mini climax of the song, as it changes keys.

11:34-13:16 is called the Turkish March Froh, wie seine Sonen Fliegen Durch des Himmels pracht’gen Plan, Laufet, Bruder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen

The Fugue (13:16-15:46) The fugue begins with separating the instruments and bringing them in one by one until all of them are playing triumphantly together as a whole.

THIS KISS FOR ALL WHOLE WORLD! (15:46-18:42) The music is silent for a moment once again, followed by baritones singing.

(19:56-24:56) The two themes, Ode to Joy and A Kiss for All Whole World, merge together in a overlapping sequence.

The Coda 24:56-the end. The music starts quietly and speeds up Intensely. The audience loved the music and Beethoven felt the love and respect, which brought him to tears.

If you would like to listen to the music, click the link below.

References & Bibliography Levy, David Benjamin, Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony. Yale University Press: Asiyclassical, Guided Tours of Classical Music for the Average Person, Web, July 2011 Tali, Makell, “Ludwig van Beethoven: Classical Music: The listener's Companion edition,San Francisco: Backbeat Books: Levy, David Benjamin, “Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony”, revised (Yale University Press: 2003 YouTube, Beethoven Symphony #9, Opus 125, 4 th movement. Conducted by Leonard Bernstein and Vienna Phil Daily KOS, Thursday Classical Music Opus 71: Beethoven’s Ninth: The Ode to Joy Finale, KOS Medica, LLC: Dumbo, March 2012 Google search engine: Beethoven pictures, Web. Sausha Sommers, Eagle Mountain, UT: Home, July 2015