October 16/17, 2010
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Santa Barbara Symphony
Nir Kabaretti, Conductor
Location: The Granada

JoAnne Wasserman will prepare the Choral Society, as it joins the Santa Barbara Symphony, Nir Kabaretti, conductor, for this performance at the Granada.

Begun in 1818 and completed in 1824, when the composer was totally deaf, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, the ‘Choral’ is the last complete symphony composed by Ludwig von Beethoven. Among the best-known works in the Western classical repertoire, it was the first example of a major composer’s using voices in a symphony. The chorus and quartet of soloists appear only in the rousing final movement, which takes its text from the Friedrich Schiller poem, “An die Freude” or “Ode to Joy.”

The work has been beloved by audiences since its first performance in Vienna with Beethoven present though, because of his inability to hear, no longer able to conduct. Like many of his later works, Symphony No. 9 is exquisitely demanding on conductor, musicians, chorus, and soloists alike.