The Million Dollar Score
As one of the most recognized classical composers in history, Ludwig van Beethoven contributed a significant amount of magnificent orchestrations during the classical era that continue to be studied and performed today. Yet, the one piece of his that stands out notably is his ninth symphony, composed in the early 1820s and premiered in Vienna in 1824.
Another way to exemplify just how admired this piece is, is to look at a primary source from The Washington Post in 2003. In this primary source, author, Tim Page, goes into detail on the upcoming auction through Sotheby’s (one of the world’s largest and most trusted auction companies for fine art) of the original 465 pages of the Beethoven’s Ninth.
Page elaborates on the astonishing connection this unique score has to the premiere of the piece itself in 1824, stating that not only did it include parts of the score that were cut last minute and were never played, but also “thousands of alterations” with “hardly a page untouched,” (2003). He continues with recognition of how it has been celebrated throughout history and similarly, how it has been used to celebrate major events, then finishes off with a statement on how Beethoven would have loved to see his pieces sold for millions (of course).
(Link above to the primary source, titled “The Ultimate Score: Beethoven’s Manuscript of Ninth Symphony to Be Auctioned” by Tim Page)
The most interesting aspect of this primary source is the way it stands true to the composer’s vigorous and persistent need for perfection within his music and the scores themselves. Within the primary source, it mentions that even though Beethoven did make a significant amount of last minute alterations, one can tell that they were done with “particular care,” (Page, 2003). This can also be proven to be very characteristic of him within a document from Beethoven to a copyist in the year of its premiere, where he states to “copy everything exactly as [he] has indicated; and use some intelligence here and there”.
What is very interesting about this primary source is that it characterizes Beethoven and his Ninth Symphony as being very frantic/frantically altered last minute, yet continues to uplift its easily recognizable homophonic melody of “Ode to Joy” in the finale. I think this primary source plays a great role as an example of the way that we have almost embraced the inexplicably talented mind of Beethoven and are impressed by his ability to create such well thought out orchestrations, alter them up until the day of the concert, and still premiere one of the most “incomparable works”.
This then opens up questions to how highly we would’ve valued such an original piece of work had Beethoven been less open to alterations. If he hadn’t marked up his original score, would we have known it was the exact copy used in the premiere? Would we have put a price tag as high as it had eventually sold for (£2.1m or almost $2.5m) without all the captivating marks?
Then, in terms of the music itself, would the piece had done so well if this characteristic of Beethoven’s didn’t exist? Would the piece had done worse if he didn’t cut parts of the piece last second, never to be heard by an audience? Without his sudden realizations for a better way to perform his piece, would the audience have bursted out shouting during such beautifully written chorus parts in the finale?
I think this primary source truly allows for us to take in just how valuable Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the composer behind it is. Taking in and embracing all aspects of its impeccable structure, phrasing, and melodies on paper and in performance is what makes us never lose interest in such a historical piece.
Sources:
(Picture of Score): https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/beautiful-manuscripts/beethoven-ninth-symphony/
(Information on Sotheby’s): https://www.sothebys.com/en/about?locale=en
(Document on Beethoven to Copyist): “Beethoven’s letters are cited from the following two volumes: Emily Anderson, trans., The Letters of Beethoven (New York: Norton, 1985), p p. 1116–37; and Theodore Albrecht, ed. and trans., Letters to Beethoven and Other Correspondence, 3 vols., vol. 3 :1824–1828 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996).”
