It won't be long before nobody knows who wrote the Ode to Joy. From the loftiest state occasion to the lowliest ring tone, the Ode to Joy has permeated international culture for the past two centuries, and, soon, even perhaps in our lifetime, nobody will remember who wrote it. Of course, everybody will know who wrote Beethoven's Ninth; like da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the artist and the artwork are fused in the cultural mind. But the Ode to Joy melody -- that simple, straight-through-the-heart melody that everybody can sing and ...
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It won't be long before nobody knows who wrote the Ode to Joy. From the loftiest state occasion to the lowliest ring tone, the Ode to Joy has permeated international culture for the past two centuries, and, soon, even perhaps in our lifetime, nobody will remember who wrote it. Of course, everybody will know who wrote Beethoven's Ninth; like da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the artist and the artwork are fused in the cultural mind. But the Ode to Joy melody -- that simple, straight-through-the-heart melody that everybody can sing and nobody can forget -- has become the theme song for humanity's aspirations and its intervals and rhythms are now part of our collective DNA.That said, is there need for another recorded performance of the Ninth? It depends on the interpretation. Stanislaw Skrowaczewski's interpretation is all about clarity, about elucidating the lines, illuminating the harmonies, and revealing the structure, about letting everything in the score be heard ideally balanced and perfectly projected....
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