Quote:
Originally Posted by aopirose
Ode to Joy was written in 1785 by German poet Freidrich Schiller. Beethoven set the piece, with revisions, to music as the fourth and last movement of Symphony Number 9 in D minor, which was completed in 1824. It is said that Beethoven was completely deaf from an inner ear lesion by 1816. Therefore, he never “heard” the final version of his work. He felt the vibrations.
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He conducted the debut, and had to be stopped by a member of the orchestra to accept his applause, because he continued to conduct after the piece was over. (I have just sung this with the Charlotte Symphony last Spring.)