Friday 22 / November / 2024
Muscat: Ludwig van Beethoven’s last great masterpiece, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, stands as one of the supreme achievements in the history of western music. It is also a work that forms an important stylistic bridge between the Classical and Romantic eras in music. The Symphony is structured in four movements building to a glorious choral finale. Beethoven adapted the words for the finale of the symphony from Ode to Joy, a poem written in 1785 by famous German philosopher, historian, physician and wordsmith, Friedrich Schiller. The poet described joy as a “beautiful spark of divinity”, and spoke rapturously of the brotherhood of joyful heroes and portrayed God as “embracing all the world from above the starry canopy”. Expressing musically his passion for the noble ideals of his age, Beethoven created a complex work marked by magnificence and grandeur. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in 1824 and became a powerful call for freedom and universal brotherhood. In the late twentieth century, the musical theme of Ode to Joy was adopted as the anthem of the European Union, attesting to the stature of Beethoven’s compelling Ninth Symphony. Tenor, conductor, composer and multi-talented artist, Argentinian luminary José Cura is acclaimed for his original interpretations of opera characters, as well as for his innovative orchestral direction. He will lead the Orchestra and Choir of Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, South America’s finest theatre. The four soloist voices in Ode to Joy are sung by soprano María Belén Rivarola, mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Barrientos, tenor Enrique Folger and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony will be performed on one night only - Friday, 13 September at 7.00 pm. A pre-performance talk for ticket holders only takes place one hour before the concert. A coffee & dates session with José Cura will be held on 9 September at 7.00 pm. Please consult
bass Christian Peregrino.
