Concert programme
L. van Beethoven. Symphony no. 9, d-moll, op. 125
The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, led by its artistic director and chief conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius, invites listeners to experience one of the most spectacular works by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) – his final masterpiece, the Ninth Symphony. It is considered a vital stylistic bridge, marking the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western music history. In the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven introduces voices for the very first time: in the final, fourth movement of the symphony, four soloists and a choir sing Friedrich Schiller’s famous poem "Ode to Joy" – which is why the work is also known as the Choral Symphony.
Beethoven worked painstakingly on every single note of the symphony; his notebooks reveal that the composer considered and rejected more than 200 different variations of the "Ode to Joy" theme. Upon completing the work, Beethoven presented the public with an entirely new vision of the symphonic genre. It featured four vocal soloists and a choir (until then, the symphony had been regarded as an exclusively instrumental genre), an unusually large orchestra, and a duration of over an hour, which defied the standards of the era.
The premiere of the Ninth Symphony in Vienna in 1824 was met with immense enthusiasm. "The audience greeted their hero with the utmost respect and affection, listened to his wonderful, majestic work with bated breath, and burst into thunderous applause after each movement. At the conclusion of the symphony, the audience gave Beethoven a standing ovation no fewer than five times, waving handkerchiefs, hats, and raised hands so that Beethoven, who could not hear the applause, could at least see the ovation," a critic for the Theater-Zeitung wrote after the premiere.
Connoisseurs recognize the symphony as Beethoven's greatest masterpiece and one of the supreme achievements in the history of Western music. It also remains one of the most frequently performed symphonies in the world.