Why Beethoven’s ninth appeals to democrats and despots alike
Since its first performance 200 years ago, few pieces of music have won such varied devotees
Ludwig van Beethoven’s ninth and final symphony was first performed on May 7th 1824 at Kärntnertor Theatre in Vienna. By then deaf, the composer took to the stage for the first time in 12 years to help conduct it, to a thunderous ovation. Since then, the roughly 70-minute symphony—and in particular its triumphant choral finale, “Ode to Joy”—has been admired by all kinds of audiences: left and right, democrats and totalitarians, capitalists and communists.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Something ⇔for everyone”
Culture May 11th 2024
- True tales of secrecy, opacity and outright thievery in art
- What strategies actually work to fight dying?
- Why Beethoven’s ninth appeals to democrats and despots alike
- How the chilli pepper has set fire to the internet in China
- In its 200 years the National Gallery has mirrored Britain
- American comedy has become too safe on TV
From the May 11th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Angela Merkel sets out to restore her reputation
But her new memoir is unlikely to change her critics’ minds
The best books of 2024, as chosen by The Economist
Readers will never think the same way again about games, horses and spies
What to read to understand Elon Musk
The world’s richest man was shaped by science fiction
Tech and religion are very much alike
They both have gods, rich institutions and secretive cultures
Woodrow Wilson’s reputation continues to decline
A dispassionate new biography chronicles the former president’s hostility to suffrage
The cult of Jordan Peterson
What the Canadian intellectual gets right about young men