Beethoven and Shiller commentary

[smitty]

Hi all. I know very little about music but i know what I like to listen to. Today I watched a program on the 9th symphony an d all the various groups who have espoused its glory and laid claim to it as "their" anthem. During the show (which I enjoyed mostly as audio only) I spotted some written commentary attributed to Shiller about ( I believe) LVB's meanings of equality and freedom and broherhood of man. I was hoping to find out if these quotes are available anywhere. It's facinating how this contrasts with the philosophies of certain groups who held this music up so proudly as their own. Any help is most appreciated. Thanx

[Peter]

Hi Smitty - Schiller died in 1805, long before Beethoven set his Ode to Joy in the finale of the 9th symphony, so the commentary cannot have been Schiller's. Here is a link to an article about Schiller's Ode which I hope may be useful.
http://herewestand.org/english/HereW.../OdeToJoy.html

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'Man know thyself'

[Joy]

Hi Smitty,

Here's a few of Schiller's quotations on other subjects.

"Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."

"It does not prove a thing to be right because the majority say it is so." (So true)

"Keep true to the dreams of thy youth."


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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Preston]

I would have imagined that Beethoven knew for many years that he wanted to put a choral ending in his grand symphony and understood why. It says that Beethoven was unsure about the final movement of his symphony. I would think that he understood what the symphony was and what it should be and would have known perfectly that this can be part of a symphony.

Does anyone know anything on this?

Kind Regards,
Preston

[Peter]

Originally posted by Preston:
I would have imagined that Beethoven knew for many years that he wanted to put a choral ending in his grand symphony and understood why. It says that Beethoven was unsure about the final movement of his symphony. I would think that he understood what the symphony was and what it should be and would have known perfectly that this can be part of a symphony.

Does anyone know anything on this?

Kind Regards,
Preston

The setting of Schiller's Ode had been in his mind since 1793 and not always as part of a symphony. In 1818 he planned a pair of symphonies, one instrumental in D minor, and the other choral with voices entering either in the slow movement or finale. His original intention was to set a Greek myth and religious text using ancient modes. Even as late as 1823 (despite sketches for setting Schiller's text) he was still considering an instrumental finale.


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'Man know thyself'