Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and musicologists as a masterpiece of Western classical music and one of the supreme achievements in the history of music. One of the best-known works in common practice music, it stands as one of the most frequently performed symphonies in the world.
Theater am Kärntnertor in 1830
Portrait of Beethoven in 1824, the year his Ninth Symphony was premiered. He was almost completely deaf by the time of its composition.
Caroline Unger, who sang the contralto part at the first performance and is credited with turning Beethoven to face the applauding audience
Portrait of Friedrich Schiller by Ludovike Simanowiz (1794)
A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir, and sometimes solo vocalists that, in its internal workings and overall musical architecture, adheres broadly to symphonic musical form. The term "choral symphony" in this context was coined by Hector Berlioz when he described his Roméo et Juliette as such in his five-paragraph introduction to that work. The direct antecedent for the choral symphony is Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's Ninth incorporates part of the ode An die Freude, a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer's use of the human voice on the same level as instruments in a symphony.
Hector Berlioz was the first to use the term "choral symphony" for a musical composition—his Roméo et Juliette.
Ludwig van Beethoven redefined the symphony genre by introducing words and voices in his Ninth Symphony.
Krzysztof Penderecki wrote his Seventh Symphony to celebrate the third millennium of the city of Jerusalem.
Walt Whitman's use of free verse became appreciated by composers seeking a more fluid approach to setting text.