Beethoven's 9th

[Megan]

Did Beethoven start composing his 9th Symphony early on in his career?

[Peter]

I think the idea of setting Schiller's ode to Joy was an ambition from the early 1790's. Sketches for the 9th date back I think to 1817.

[Roehre]

That's the generally accepted state of affairs.

There is however still the possibillity that Beethoven browsed through his sketches and came across the ones for the scherzo of Symphony 2 (dating from ca.1800/'02).
(B kept as far as possible all his sketches, but wasn't bothered about the state of the autograph scores of published works. That's why a part of the finale of opus 27/2 is the earliest surviving score of a during B's lifetime published work ).

The similarities between the trio of op.36 and that of op.125, and the rather "complete" melodic form of the earliest sketches of the latter, do point at this possibillity.

[Peter]

That's the generally accepted state of affairs.

There is however still the possibillity that Beethoven browsed through his sketches and came across the ones for the scherzo of Symphony 2 (dating from ca.1800/'02).
(B kept as far as possible all his sketches, but wasn't bothered about the state of the autograph scores of published works. That's why a part of the finale of opus 27/2 is the earliest surviving score of a during B's lifetime published work ).

The similarities between the trio of op.36 and that of op.125, and the rather "complete" melodic form of the earliest sketches of the latter, do point at this possibillity.

Yes I agree - there is also the similarity with the main theme of 9th 1st movt and a passage in the introduction to 2nd symphony.

[Joy]

Indeed, sketches of his 9th date back to 1817. I think he had it in his mind for a long time before committing it down to paper. Also this symphony was a first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony (thus making it a choral symphony). The Choral Fantasy Opus. 80 (1808), basically a piano concerto movement, brings in a chorus and vocal soloists near the end to form the climax. As in the Ninth Symphony, the vocal forces sing a theme first played instrumentally. There is some similarity in that music as well.