Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: the darker side? Jonathan Allin This article was inspired by a Radio 3 talk by Tom Service, “Beethoven's 9th symphony”, which can be found at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b08g4c36. I’ve also taken material from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._9_(Beethoven) and from Singing the Ode "To Joy" in Auschwitz: A Ten-Year-Old's Story (https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-1538767891/singing-the-odeto-joy-in-auschwitz-a-ten-year-old-s)
By Ludwig van Beethoven The website of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlinhttp://beethoven.staat sbibliothekberlin.de/de/sinfonien/9/1/2 7.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia. org/w/index.php?curid=289 0252
Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is one of the best known, if not the best known, classical symphony. It’s structured into the usual four movements, though the scherzo, the second movement, comes before the andante, the third movement. It’s also unusual because of its length: at over 70 minutes it’s easily the longest of his symphonies, and of course because of the chorale finale. The last movement wasn’t universally liked. Beethoven’s contemporary and friend, Louis Spore, declared the last movement monstrous. Fanny Mendelssohn also hated it. Anthony Burgess, the author of A Clockwork Orange) thought Ode to Joy was a poor melody, though interesting rhythmically. Page 25
