Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was premiered exactly 200 years ago on Tuesday, and has since become perhaps the work most likely to be embraced for political purposes.
This song was performed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The song was performed there again on Christmas Day 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with Leonard Bernstein replacing the word “joy” in the chorus's finale with “freedom.” The European Union has adopted the symphony's “Ode to Joy” theme as its national anthem. (Recently, the Ninth has been performed in concert halls around the world to commemorate its premiere. The world of classical music loves anniversaries.)
Beethoven may have been surprised by the political appeal of his masterpiece.
He was interested in politics, but only because he was deeply interested in human nature. Legend has it that he originally wanted to dedicate his Eroica symphony to Napoleon – it was called Bonaparte – but changed his mind after Napoleon abandoned the ideals of the French Revolution and became emperor. .
But I don't think Beethoven was interested in everyday politics. He wasn't an activist.
Rather, he was a highly political figure in the broadest sense of the word. He was concerned with moral behavior and the larger questions of right and wrong that affected society as a whole. Of particular importance to him was freedom of thought and individual expression, which he associated with individual rights and responsibilities. He would not have been sympathetic to the now widely held view that freedom is essentially economic and necessary for the working of markets.
The closest he comes to a political statement in the Ninth is the line at the center of the final movement, the first time a voice is heard in the symphony: “All men shall be brothers.” Given the many exceptions, including Jews under the Nazi regime and minority populations in many parts of the world, we understand this to be more of an expression of hope than a statement of confidence. The volume and scope of the crises facing humanity are severely testing that hope. We have been through many crises and we seem to have learned no lessons from them.
I also see the Ninth in a different light. Music itself represents nothing other than itself. The greatness of music, and the Ninth Symphony, lies in its richness of contrast. Music doesn't just make you laugh or cry. It always makes me laugh and cry at the same time. For me, Beethoven creates unity from contradiction.
If you study music properly, it can be a life lesson. Of course, there is much we can learn from Beethoven, one of the most powerful figures in music history. He is a master at combining emotion and intellect. With Beethoven, you have to be able to structure your emotions and feel that structure emotionally. This is a great lesson for life. When we fall in love, we lose all sense of discipline. Music doesn't allow that.
However, music has different meanings for different people, and can mean different things to the same person at different moments. It may be poetic, philosophical, sensual, mathematical, but it must have something to do with the soul.
Therefore, it is metaphysical, but the means of expression is purely and exclusively physical – sound. Indeed, the strength of music lies in the permanent coexistence of metaphysical messages through physical means. This is why if you try to explain music in words, you can only express your own reaction to it in words, and you cannot understand the music itself.
The Ninth Symphony is one of the most important works of art in Western culture. Some experts have called it the greatest symphony of all time, and many critics have praised its visionary message. Also, this work is one of his most innovative works by the composer, which is primarily defined by the innovative nature of the work. Beethoven freed music from common conventions of harmony and structure. Sometimes I sense in his later works a will to break all signs of continuity.
Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci said something great in 1929, when Benito Mussolini was ruling Italy. “My heart is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic,” he wrote to his friend from prison. I think he was trying to say that as long as he is alive, there is hope. I still try to heed Gramsci's words, although I don't always succeed.
Beethoven was courageous no matter who saw him, and I think courage is an essential quality not only in playing the Ninth, but also in understanding it. Many of Beethoven's works could be paraphrased in the spirit of Gramsci: Suffering is inevitable, but the courage to overcome it makes life worth living.
Daniel Barenboim is a pianist and conductor, co-founder of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and founder of the Barenboim Said Academy in Berlin.
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