Organization

Conductor

Leonard Bernstein

Singer

Soprano

Gwyneth Jones

Tenor

René Kollo

Bass

Kurt Moll

Wiener Staatsoper

Others

Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor

Orchestra

Wiener Philharmoniker

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125 ("Choral") -  (9th Symphony)

Vienna

Austria

The 9th symphony, which Beethoven composed when he was completely deaf, was first performed on May 7, 1824 in Vienna. Despite the imperfect reproduction, the public success was great, only the professional world wavered for a long time between complete rejection and enthusiastic approval. Above all, the last movement, in which Beethoven used the words of poets and human voices, contrary to the applicable stylistic laws, was criticized. Beethoven had been thinking about setting Schiller's Ode "An die Freude" to music since 1793, but it was only in the autumn of 1823, while he was working on this symphony, that he chose the "Joyful Melody" as the theme of the finale. This decision arose from the realization that only a choir could express his feelings.

When Leonard Bernstein recorded Ludwig van Beethoven's nine symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic, he regarded these recordings as a personal commitment, as a "legacy of my faith and my heartfelt relationship to this greatest of all composers". Bernstein's concerts were one of the most important musical events in Vienna and were received with undivided applause from the public and critics alike: "A musician cannot stand up for a musician more personally, more coherently, more rousingly than Bernstein does for Beethoven," it said in the "Presse ". Leonard Bernstein's passionate interpretation of Beethoven's music leaves an incomparable impression on the audience.
"Beethoven has always meant universality to me, ever since my earliest youth, when I first heard that unforgettable cry: 'Brothers!'. From that moment on, each symphony was an intimate communication, like a journey through the universe."
Bernstein's Beethoven cycle won the 1982 Ace Cable Award, US cable television's highest award for excellence and superior entertainment.
This recording was made in September 1979 in the Vienna State Opera.
"The fact that the Vienna Philharmonic showed him an engagement like Karl Böhm otherwise, is palpable in every phase of these performances. No less the spontaneity and inner tension of these performances, which Bernstein only achieves when he knows the audience is behind his back. He needs it is known even in his rehearsals" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
"Bernstein not only convinces, he also touches. The fact that this emotional component never becomes obtrusive, that threatening sentimentality is always pushed aside in case of doubt, that rounds off this cycle" (Fono Forum).

René Kollo, born on November 20, 1937 in Berlin, is one of the most versatile German musicians: on the opera stage he changed from a lyric tenor to a heroic tenor in the course of his career, before that he was successful as a pop singer, and he has countless recordings in the field of operetta made. He is one of the few who can afford to work in both serious and light music without prejudice. Kollo comes from a Berlin music dynasty. His career as an opera singer began in 1965; in the years that followed he made guest appearances at all the major opera houses in the world and at the festivals in Bayreuth and Salzburg. As a heldentenor he was one of the best singers in his field. Even in our time he appears in character roles and works as a book author. René Kollo has received numerous awards. 1979 with the Federal Cross of Merit and 1994 with the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class. He is a chamber singer of the Bavarian State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in which René Kollo also became an honorary member.

9. Sinfonie in d-Moll op. 125 Beethoven

Public

9th Symphony

Approved

9th Symphony by Beethoven, From (1979/1979), Conductor Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues