Beethoven's Ninth

When Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 premiered in 1824, the soloists had to turn the then-deaf Beethoven towards the audience in order for him to accept the ardent applause of the cheering crowd. It was an enormous success, and it would prove to be true that Beethoven had composed a piece for the future that paved the way for the evolution of art music. The choir plays an important role in the symphony, a task shouldered here by the eminent Eric Ericson Chamber Choir.

Mirjam Tally is an Estonian composer who has lived and worked in Sweden for over ten years. Her piece Lament was written as a counterpart to Beethoven’s symphony. The Symphony Orchestra of Norrland’s Opera commissioned several composers to create pieces connected in some way to one of Beethoven’s nine symphonies – a drawing determined which composer was assigned which symphony. Tally opted to emphasise the lyrical side of Beethoven by building her piece on a recitative in the cello section, taken from the fourth movement of the ninth symphony.

The evening’s conductor, Franz Welser-Möst, is responsible for the arrangement of Grosse Fuge for String Quartet for string orchestra. Welser-Möst is chief conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and a regular guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Soloists in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 include: Dashon Burton, a baritone acclaimed for his majestic voice and who has previously worked with Welser-Möst; alto Jennifer Johnston, who has appeared at La Scala and with the Bavarian State Opera; Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, who has a luminous career ahead of her, with leading roles on stages including Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera and Teatro Real in Madrid; and tenor Norbert Ernst, a highly coveted soloist in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss.