Finally we have the finale, the Fifth Movement, the ultimate expression of the composer's art, love and hope. As early as 1793, Beethoven began to think about putting music to Schiller's "Ode to Joy." But it is only the completely mature Beethoven, a man who has lived through a lifetime of disappointments and tragedy, who is able to write his as yet unsurpassed masterpiece:
Ode to Joy--Friedrich von Schiller
O Freunde, nicht diese Tone!
Sondern lafts uns angenehinere anstinmen
und Freudenvollere!
O friends, no more these sounds!
Let us sing more cheerful sounds,
More full of Joy!
He could not even hear this final triumph. But we can.
Beethoven was probably a manic-depressive, who used alcohol in a fruitless attempt to ease his suffering. Mental illness seems to be a companion of so many great musicians to this very day: Robert Schumann, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, James Jamerson, Jaco Pastorius, Kurt Cobain, to name a few. Beethoven is amazing because in his final and greatest Symphony, the Ninth, it is not a morose man cursing the World. It is a man who is still full of hope. And I can think of no greater gift this holiday season than that gift, the gift of hope.
Happy Beethoven's Birthday!
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