What does Beethoven's 9th symphony mean to you?

[Mozart]

Beethoven clearly has some sort of message for this work but its been one of my biggest struggles to figure it out. I was finally in the perfect state of mind for the piece 2 nights ago and it made me feel nothing besdies loneliness,

[Harry]

Wait till you come to the Choral bits in the end, Beethoven had second thoughts about that.
Should have changed it in a instrumental ending, instead of all those screaming ladies, only ladies mind!
But apart from that ending, in did not make me sad.
It means a lot to me.

[Mozart]

Wait till you come to the Choral bits in the end, Beethoven had second thoughts about that.
Should have changed it in a instrumental ending, instead of all those screaming ladies, only ladies mind!
But apart from that ending, in did not make me sad.
It means a lot to me.

The ending I always thought was strange, isn't it a fugue or something it doesn't sound very pleasant but it ends in a bang.

[dtwilbanks]

Mozart, I think you're generating the loneliness yourself. It is not coming from the 9th. At least not in my experience. 

[Mozart]

Mozart, I think you're generating the loneliness yourself. It is not coming from the 9th. At least not in my experience. 

Well I had the feeling like how can anyone else possibly understand how this is matching my mood perfectly?

[Josquin des Prez]

I think the piece is autobiographical and in the last movement prophetic. After conception, it first plunges into turmoil (youth), then development (middle), and finally, we are confronted with the spiritual calm and acceptance of his last years.

From the fourth movement onward, he is speaking from the heavens (not without facing judgment first, in the instrumental pre-amble), and his message is one of pure brotherly joy and happiness, as you would expect.

My take, at any rate...

[BachQ]

Q: What does Beethoven's 9th symphony mean to you?

A: To me, it means a potent infusion of d minor . . . . . .

[mahlertitan]

it's pointless to write symphonies, do you think you can do better than the "Choral"?

Hummel sure was convinced of that.

[johnshade]

~
Listening to Ninth today gives me a certain feeling of nostalgia. It was one of the first ten or so recordings of classical music I acquired many, many years ago. I am reminded of friends and our mutual enjoyment of music during my college years.
JS

[Steve]

I think the piece is autobiographical and in the last movement prophetic. After conception, it first plunges into turmoil (youth), then development (middle), and finally, we are confronted with the spiritual calm and acceptance of his last years.

From the fourth movement onward, he is speaking from the heavens (not without facing judgment first, in the instrumental pre-amble), and his message is one of pure brotherly joy and happiness, and you would expect.

My take, at any rate...

Yes, des Prez, I agree with much of what you have said. I would refrain from using the word "acceptance" to describe the final movements; instead I've always fond it to be a testement to the resolve of the human spirit, a sort of final victory over death.

[marvinbrown]

Mozart, I think you're generating the loneliness yourself. It is not coming from the 9th. At least not in my experience. 

  Well said dtwilbanks.

  marvin

[Steve]

Beethoven clearly has some sort of message for this work but its been one of my biggest struggles to figure it out. I was finally in the perfect state of mind for the piece 2 nights ago and it made me feel nothing besdies loneliness,

This has nothing to do with Beethoven's masterpiece. 

[Cato]

In all great artworks there are multiple layers of Time and Emotion, and these are fluid, amorphous, yet tangible.

So you might very well feel Loneliness in the face of Beethoven's Beer-Hall Brouhaha for Brotherhood, if you have the present sense of being an Outsider.

Given the caveat above, the "message" in the first 3 movements, and summarized in the fourth's beginning, is that a great struggle is involved in attaining the brotherhood lionized in the final movement: Beethoven himself of course felt cut off from Humanity, both because of his deafness and of his "Beethovenness."

[Don Giovanni]

The first Beethoven symphony (or any symphony, for that matter) I owned and it's still very close to my heart. Despite the glorious 4th movement, the 2nd is still my favourite.

[karlhenning]

What Beethoven's 9th symphony means to me, is a long story.

It begins in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  A panda, a parrot and a glowworm are in a bar . . . .

[Steve]

What Beethoven's 9th symphony means to me, is a long story.

It begins in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  A panda, a parrot and a glowworm are in a bar . . . .

Is this an endangered panda, karl? Any PETA pals around? 

[jochanaan]

It means that this is some of the most exciting, moving, compelling music ever written.

Well, there is that story about the bass section...

[Brian]

I'm afraid I've lost much of my fondness for the work ... I think I shall avoid it completely for 6 months or so and then revisit it and see what it means to me then.

What Beethoven's 9th symphony means to me, is a long story.

It begins in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  A panda, a parrot and a glowworm are in a bar . . . .

Do tell, signore!

[hornteacher]

I think the piece is autobiographical and in the last movement prophetic. After conception, it first plunges into turmoil (youth), then development (middle), and finally, we are confronted with the spiritual calm and acceptance of his last years.

From the fourth movement onward, he is speaking from the heavens (not without facing judgment first, in the instrumental pre-amble), and his message is one of pure brotherly joy and happiness, as you would expect.

My take, at any rate...

Well said.

For me the 9th is as close to God as I will get before I pass from this world.

[71 dB]

Amazingly little.