While the celebrations in Luxembourg, which otherwise likes to act so European, are, to say the least, reserved, there are big celebrations elsewhere: On May 7, 1824, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was premiered in Vienna’s Kärtnertor Theater. The composer, deaf and only present as a guest behind the actual conductor, is said to be by the Singer Caroline Unger turned towards the audience – so that he could at least see the frenetic final applause.
Over the decades, the work with its revolutionary spirit in music and text became one of the best-known and most (recorded) pieces of classical music in the world today. “Epochal”, “metaphysical”, “mystical”, “divinely sublime” and “leading chaos into pure order” – there seem to be no limits to the wording of music experts in the description. Allegedly, even the standard 74 minutes of audio CD length – whether initiated by Beethoven interpreter Herbert von Karajan or the Sony management – is based on the length of the performance.
Beethoven’s Autograph the score has been a member since 2001 Unesco-Weltdokumentenerbe „Memory of the World“. The reason, according to UNESCO: “It is one of Beethoven’s most impressive and powerfully sounding works. Their influence on musical history was decisive and intense in the 19th and 20th centuries and was not limited to the symphony genre. In the last movement, the human voice was included in a symphony for the first time. This ‘Ode to Joy’, which sets a poem by Friedrich von Schiller to music, has become a symbol of peace between all nations and peoples of the world.” These political references to the French Enlightenment, consciously placed by Beethoven in the last movement of the symphony, also resonate the music to this day.
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With this interpretation in the direction of “Freedom – Equality – Fraternity” it has become so universally applicable that an excerpt could also be used as a European anthem. “In 1972, the Council of Europe declared Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ its anthem. In 1985 it was adopted by EU heads of state and government as the official anthem of the European Union. Without words, only in the universal language of music, it expresses the European values of freedom, peace and solidarity.” But the extent to which these values are shared can also be seen when they are deliberately no longer played or played is disregarded – seen at the opening of the EU Parliament in 2019.
July 2, 2019, Strasbourg: Members in the European Parliament for the Brexit Party of Great Britain turn their backs on Parliament as the European anthem is played at the first session of the new European Parliament. Photo: dpa
In any case, it takes place almost 200 years later the Luxembourg horn player Amanda Kleinbart at the acclaimed performance in the Elbphilharmonie under Alan Gilbert. Thunderous applause, some standing ovations – Schiller’s lyric “All men become brothers” obviously did not fail to convey its magical power in Beethoven’s fiery music. The “Ode” bars are popular and catchy – that also promotes enthusiasm.
Worldwide enthusiasm for a work full of the desire for freedom
In Germany, the Ninth and its “Ode to Joy” are closely linked to reunification. In Japan it is revered as the second national anthem and has been played live across the country every year since it was first performed by German prisoners of war in the First World War, especially at the turn of the year. And in many crisis and war zones it is consciously used as a wish for peace – not least in Ukraine.
Not that Beethoven’s work wasn’t performed in Luxembourg or didn’t leave an impact. Jack Martin Handel put Beethoven’s Ninth in a particularly musical spotlight, as did his successor at the helm of the Solistes Européens, Christoph König. König was even able to freshly record the “holy grail” – all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies; the Ninth, among others, with the support of the Chœur de Chambre under Antonio Grosu. He in turn has himself would like to perform the work. It looks good in programs – especially for anniversaries and European celebrations – or in the conductor’s CV.
At the classic time of the season for a performance of the Ninth, the end of the year, the Lëtzebuerger Philharmoniker went one better: in the Grand Théâtre, the symphony became a contemporary interpreted event between dance and circus at the turn of the year 2023/24. The work can also be used to attract an audience and sell classic albums. In this digital age, hundreds of interpretations are available with just a few clicks.
Today, the message of the Ninth Symphony is more relevant and necessary than ever.
Musicologist Harald Hodeige
And even if there are no performances planned in Luxembourg around the anniversary day itself, the 24/25 season cannot do without the ninth. Philippe Herreweghe is scheduled to interpret the work in the Philharmonie on December 6th with the Orchester des Champs-Élysées and the Collegium Vocale Gent – and the choice of the second work of the evening also underlines the political message associated with the concert: Hanns Eisler’s “Against War”. The work constantly oscillates between a classic hit and a politically multifunctional all-purpose weapon. And if you don’t want to do without it for your anniversary, can follow the Arte theme evening about the work on May 7th.
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Despite all the jubilation, there is also a sentence in the UNESCO statement that is exciting: “has become a symbol of peace between all nations and peoples of the world”. “It has become…” – that wasn’t always the case. Beethoven as a composer and especially his Ninth were abused; depending on ideology.
Reports from the Nazi era in Luxembourg show the regime’s political abuse of Beethoven and his music. Photo: LW Archives
For the Nazis, the ideas of the French Enlightenment were less of a problem Beethoven and Schiller became national heroes of a strong German past stylized in Nazi propaganda. And the regime deliberately used this in Luxembourg: Beethoven’s Ninth crowned the end of the “Luxembourg Beethoven Festival” in the 1940s. The then director of the State Music School (the renamed Conservatory), Hans Herwig, established the festival and was able to repeatedly welcome flagship stars of Nazi propaganda such as the pianist Elly Ney. The follow-up reports – with photos that were difficult to produce and use at the time – from the “Luxemburger Wort”, which was placed under Nazi control, testify to how Beethoven’s interpretation should be read.
That Elly Ney played Beethoven in the first season of the Radio Luxembourg Orchestra under Henri Pensis? Almost a decade later, when the Beethoven Festival was held, Pensis had long since been removed from his position, the conductor had emigrated to America and the radio orchestra had been dissolved. Even after the war, Ney continued to be celebrated as a Beethoven interpreter, even though her political convictions were controversial. It sounds cynical.
“And today?” asks musicologist Harald Hodeige in the program of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. “At a time when the spirit of the Enlightenment seems to have been lost with fake news, conspiracy myths and hostility to science, dictatorships are on the rise and wars are also raging in Europe? Today, the message of the Ninth Symphony is more relevant and necessary than ever.”