More than just an ode to joy, it is an ode to peace

Beethoven’s Ninth cast a long shadow over Romantic music. The addition of a choir in the final movement thoroughly shook up symphonic conventions. Today, the Ode to Joy is imprinted on our collective memory. Based on a simple, recognisable melody, Beethoven builds up a masterful series of variations, creating a symphony within a symphony, as it were. Philippe Herreweghe knows the work like the back of his hand, presenting this absolute climax of western music with the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, whose historical instruments are guaranteed to catapult you back in time. HannsEisler also attempted a series of variations. His piece for choir, Gegen den Krieg, is the perfect complement to Beethoven’s dream of universal brotherhood that still feels contemporary today.