Beethoven's Symphony No. 9: A Special Invitation

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- I apologize, this piece should have been posted, just after Wednesday, May 7th, when I was invited to a special Ludwig van Beethoven themed evening in a neighborhood near The Houstonian, the famous resort east of Memorial Park, in Houston. I was given an address to a street worthy of an English Lord, to a mansion with landscaping that would impress Frederick Law Olmsted himself. Needless to say, my little RX 350, was the most austere conveyance parked on the premises. I had no idea that I had a fan in such a place, who resided amongst the wealthiest Texans in the region. My columns evidently crack him up, and of course, I’m holding his name in confidence as requested.

Apparently, it was one of his secretaries who lives in The Woodlands that provides him with the source material that ’lightens his mood.’ I never knew that I was a mood enhancer, but in His World, apparently I am. I had met his secretary at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands last year at a ‘Ladies of the Vine’ Wine and Food Week event, and after giving her my card, she looked me up, and the rest is history.

I was part of a group of ten or so, with the secretary amongst them. After a short mixer and meeting everyone, the group was directed to a special screening of ‘Copying Beethoven,’ in the mansion’s video room, a luxurious theatre that impressed me, and I rarely achieve that feat. The film takes some artistic license with Diane Kruger performance as Anna Holtz, his singular female copyist; when Beethoven actually had two, one of which was named Karl Holtz. I didn’t mind it, seeing as Kruger is much more pleasant to look at than early 19th Century men. When the concert scene of the movie was about to start, the video was switched over to video performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 in D minor, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Italian Riccardo Muti on May 7, 2024, exactly 200 years to the day that Ludwig, the man himself, conducted his greatest work in the city.

I thought the move was very appropriate, because the concert portion in the movie is condensed down to about 13-14 minutes, and does not do justice to each of the four movements. The legend of the original concert is not the greatest. Beethoven was literally deaf, and was behind in the count by several bars with the orchestra being led by another’s baton, but Ludwig still got vast applause, after being turned around to enjoy the audience’s by contralio solo Caroline Unger.

With all that I shouldn't have seen and experienced, I was emotionally dead for decades. And until I started writing about music I didn’t know I could show emotion again. I shed not one tear at seeing oppressed peoples freed, the aftermath of battle, viewing broken bodies, nor at my cancer, nor at my parent's funerals. But music is all about emotion, and what you feel when those wonderful notes hit your ear drums. Music is about sensations and destiny, and experiences, good or bad. Music is about love and loss. It’s about adoration for the composer and praise for the conductor and the musicians, and their ability to work together to provide such wonderful harmonies.

In studying Beethoven’s history, I can understand him. After my cancer, like his loss of hearing, I too shunned public life. Shutting myself off from others, not wanting to share my ills over my war zoned body that will never heal. Why share a life with someone, when I require collateral damage trips to the ER yearly (which I drive myself), should my bowels take an unfortunate turn and cease operations temporarily. But I never considered if someone wants to share their life with me. I once thought that a woman that has had ovarian cancer would make a perfect partner; seeing at least we could have something in common. Beethoven never married, but he did have his ‘Immortal Beloved,’ an aristocratic woman.

Beethoven’s 9th, I believe, holds a lot of internal perspectives on our own lives. And look at what Ludwig had to go through just to write the work. He went 10 years between his 8th and 9th symphony performances, and just the thought of a man being deaf writing such an intense piece, based on the memory of the sounds of the instruments he remembered when he had still the use of the sense, is incredible. Beethoven received the commission from The Philharmonic Society of London in 1817, but the work was not completed until February 1824, a full seven years. The 4th movement was a gamechanger with its admiration for Friedrich Schiller’s poem ‘Ode to Joy’ set to choral. I’d imagine that a few may have called it a genius work of art at the time, but something so new would also take a bombardment of criticism as well. Not everyone is going to agree on everything, nor should they, but enough time has passed for the different generations to pass judgement, and it’s a piece that has stood the test of time, especially the 4th movement.

The Ninth Symphony arguably gives birth to the music philosopher, by examining its nature, expression, value, its impact on other forms of art and the listener themselves. Coupled off of that, I would imagine that it would inspire those who wish to break it down to methodology, closely analysing the score for Beethoven’s underlying motivations, and how it managed to become a coherent string of notes that unifies one's spirit when the soundwaves hit you. I appreciate the peace here and the chaos there, and depending upon the listener it conveys different meanings. For me, it’s the difference between waking up in a cabin in a mountainous setting with the one you love, versus being diagnosed with cancer, or scrambling for cover to safety in a combat zone when coming under fire. It’s the listener’s life experiences that dictates what you get out of Beethoven, and it means The World to me. It has refilled my emotional well again after decades of being dry. I can feel again, and have a want for love.

I find it comforting that Beethoven’s 9th, in live performance, has never been performed the same way twice. Each conductor has their own pace, and each instrument may look alike but they each have their own flaws at the cellular level; then you have each musician and their interpretation and individual timing of each note played. Then, of course each vocalist is different, and then you have to account for their timing; not to mention if they may or may not be at peak performance, while others may be suffering the beginnings of a cold. But when it all comes together it sounds enough like what Beethoven envisioned, even in his deaf state, of which the memory of the original concert passed away when the last attendee died, possibly even living until the 20th Century. Then let’s consider the listener themselves. Are their ears full of wax? Thus blocking the true essence of the music being emanated. Yes, ear syringing was available in 1824, but would it have been in practical usage for concert goers back in the day? I’m sure that most have clean ears before attending a performance of the Houston or Conroe Symphony Orchestra, I know I do.

Each movement of the 9th offers different emotions to the listener. There is an emotional script of life being played out, with Beethoven installed remembrances of his past works denoting great military heroism, funeral marches and low conditions. Then you have an iconic sense of nature and the beauty it represents in an idealized form, representing peace, calm, and love; plus it gives the orchestra rest before the finale. Of course, the 4th movement is the greatest piece of music ever written to stand the test of time. If it means enough to you, it will make your skin bubble.

Beethoven really did change music forever, encompassing The World on every continent, even in rural African towns in, where the 9th smashes through ethnic barriers, in both the secular and religious worlds. It was Beethoven’s Gift to The World, and it’s still being unwrapped everyday.

Following the conclusion of the film the group was treated to a Titanic themed dinner. A column on that will follow soon.

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net