10 O v ertur e |
One More Time,
With Feeling
Exploring the timeless allure
of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
By Christianna McCausland
Many of the performances in the 2013–2014 season explored music
as a source of solace and healing. So it’s fitting that the season
will conclude with a performance of two deeply emotional works:
John Adams’ 9/11 meditation, On the Transmigration of Souls,
and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Ode to Joy.
O
n the Transmigration of Souls was
written to create a musical space
where listeners could reflect on their
thoughts and feelings in the wake of the 9/11
attacks, resulting in a piece that is almost a
literal healing place. The season’s final performance moves from the contemplative to the
ebullient. And for a season emphasizing music as solace, there’s no one more suited to have
the last word than Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Ninth Symphony, arguably one of
the most recognized pieces of classical music outside symphonic circles, was written in
the waning years of Beethoven’s life. He had
lived through personal challenges, not least of
www. bsomusic .org
which was the loss of his hearing. Yet in this,
his last symphony, he chose to craft a work
of unadulterated optimism that focused on
the potential for humanity to join together, as
underscored by the words of Friedrich Schiller’s poem in the final chorale, “All men shall
become brothers.” No mere platitude, the
symphony is also a statement on adversity,
that great joy can only be experienced when
suffering is present.
Filmmaker Kerry Candaele became enthralled with the Ninth while in a black Fiat
on a drive to Santa Barbara, California. He’d
borrowed the car from a friend and found the