And Another One Begins…

“Modern man is full of platitudes about living life to its fullest, with catchy keychain phrases and little plaques for kitchen walls. But if you’ve never retreated to the solitude of a dark room and listened to Beethoven’s Ninth from start to finish, you know nothing. For music is a transcendental exploration of human emotion and experience, the very fabric of life in its purest form. And the Ninth our greatest musical achievement.” ― Tiffany Madison

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Back to the audience, facing the orchestra, the composer steadily marked the tempo with his hands. He was not conducting, though — he was deaf. Thus it was that, when the orchestra and chorus finished, he could not hear the applause and cheers of the Vienna audience. When a musician turned him around so he could see the joy on listeners’ faces, Ludwig von Beethoven bowed in gratitude — and wept. – via blog.oup.com/Beethoven’s Ninth premieres

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Tonight’s musical offering:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (complete) – Anna Samuil, soprano; Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano; Michael König, tenor; René Pape, bass – National Youth Choir of Great Britain –  West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – Daniel Barenboim, conductor – Royal Albert Hall

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash