Building a Collection #2: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony "Choral"

Including a review of selected recordings

Building a Collection #2

Symphony no. 9 “Choral” in D minor, Op. 125 

By Ludwig van Beethoven

Please note: This post includes content from my previous post on Beethoven’s Ninth in the top 50 recordings series, and has also been edited from when it was originally posted.

Most of us are familiar with the famous “Ode to Joy” melody from the final “choral” movement of Beethoven’s Ninth.  It is a melody we all heard growing up, and can still be heard on TV commercials, children’s toys, or in church.  It is arguably the greatest melody to come from the genius of Ludwig van Beethoven, and furthermore the symphony as a whole is one of the supreme achievements in the history of music.  Today it remains one of the most often performed symphonies in the world, and a reminder of the prospect of joy and brotherhood that is possible if we embrace the words set to music in the final movement.

Beethoven composed the Ninth, his last complete symphony, between 1822 and 1824, and it was first performed in Vienna on May 7th, 1824.   It was the first major symphonic work to include voices.  The fourth movement includes significant parts for four vocal soloists and chorus, with text taken from a 1785 Friedrich Schiller poem titled “Ode to Joy” with some additional text from Beethoven himself.  The Philharmonic Society of London had offered Beethoven 50 pounds to compose a new symphony in 1822, an offer Beethoven accepted “with pleasure”.  By this time, Beethoven was stone deaf and on the occasion of the triumphant premiere at the Hoftheater in Vienna, he had to be turned around at the conclusion of the symphony in order to see the standing ovation the audience was giving his final symphony. 

Beethoven’s Ninth is a work of incredible scope and proportion, certainly one of the most difficult works to pull off successfully at the time it was written, and that is still true.  The symphony runs for over an hour, and there are a wide range of interpretive ideas and theories among musicians and musicologists about various aspects of the score.  The Ninth, perhaps more than any other work, represents the conflict and transition between the Classical and Romantic periods in music.  It breaks new ground in terms of form, structure, and length, and of course with the choral final movement.  While it looks backward with a traditional number of movements and themes which still repeat in a somewhat traditional way, it also looks boldly forward with new harmonies and rhythms.  The broad structures used, particularly in the first, third, and fourth movements, went beyond anything anyone had ever heard before.  Also, the striving after an ideal, or a sort of Romantic notion of perfection, begins to find expression in the Ninth.  To be honest, Beethoven always blazed his own path and much of his music cannot be easily categorized into “classical” or “romantic”.  While it is true the first three movements still have roots in the 18th century, the final movement with its poetic and choral segments, most definitely breaks the mold.  

Beethoven’s Ninth is in four movements, and the outline below includes comments on the score by Richard Osborne, Konrad Wolff and William Mann:

1. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso -  the opening is an ambiguous haze, a sort of “primordial soup” if you will, which gives way to the large main theme.  The movement is a mass of sharply contrasted statements of the utmost terseness and intensity.  The meaning of the first movement has been widely debated, because it pushes and pulls through various themes that also repeat, but doesn’t seem to be an end in itself.  It is grandiose in scale, but also beautiful in its detail.  The theory that has been repeated most is the ambiguous opening represents chaos, and the resolution into the large theme represents creation.  Whatever the case may be, it is a powerful and uniquely Beethoven beginning.

2. Molto vivace - in the form of a scherzo, the opening is like a bolt of    lightning which leads to a dance-like fugue.  Between the 3 three-note motif at the beginning is the uniquely powerful echo on timpani, which portends blazing drama.  In fact, the timpani drums form an important part of this movement, and the woodwinds and trombones are prominent.  The movement is in sonata form, and in the middle of the movement is a trio, and then the main theme returns a second time.  The trio returns again briefly before an abrupt ending.

3. Adagio molto e cantabile - consists of a theme with variations, separated by two slightly quicker interludes punctuated by brass and percussion, but serenity returns at the end.  There is a sublime quality to the movement, which includes tenderness and a poignant horn solo at the second theme.  One of Beethoven’s most beautiful creations, even though it runs for between 14 and 20 minutes on average, this movement sometimes lives in the shadow of the final movement that follows it.  

4. Finale - marked “presto” this epic finale begins with a harsh dissonant note, perhaps surprising given the joyful theme soon to be arriving.  As the opening chord, this loud and bracing chord in D minor definitely gets your attention.  Immediately we are drawn into melodrama, as the dominant ideas of the previous three movements pass momentarily in review before the cellos and basses reject them.  The woodwinds offer a new idea which is enthusiastically accepted.  The cellos and basses, as if it were the composer humming to himself, expose the whole tune.  This is indeed the “ode to joy” tune itself, so familiar the world over.  The rest of the orchestra tries it over with the addition of flowing and expressive inner harmonic parts; the tune is given a sort of ending, but then pandemonium returns in a more extreme form and so the baritone soloist introduces the choir, song, and Schiller’s tremendous Ode.  Variations are sung by the soloists and choir, with an interlude sung by the tenor, leading to a runaway progression that ends in the cathartic and full-throated choral and orchestral return of the full “ode to joy” theme.  Beethoven breaks down the theme and lyrics further at length, which leads into the coda which races headlong to the finish.     

Some have said the fourth movement is almost like a symphony within a symphony, and at a length of 20-25 minutes on average, this movement alone is as long as some entire symphonies.  The fourth movement, according to Charles Rosen, follows the same pattern as the symphony as a whole:  Theme and Variations, scherzo, slow section which begins Andante maestoso, and the fugue style finale.

As we have mentioned, the text is largely taken from Schiller’s “Ode to Joy”, with a few introductory phrases by Beethoven (in Italics below):

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!

Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,

und freudenvollere.

Freude!

Freude!

Freude, schöner Götterfunken

Tochter aus Elysium,

Wir betreten feuertrunken,

Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!

Deine Zauber binden wieder

Was die Mode streng geteilt;

Alle Menschen werden Brüder,

Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Wem der große Wurf gelungen,

Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;

Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,

Mische seinen Jubel ein!

Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele

Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!

Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle

Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

Freude trinken alle Wesen

An den Brüsten der Natur;

Alle Guten, alle Bösen

Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.

Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,

Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;

Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,

Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen

Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,

Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,

Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!

Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!

Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt

Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?

Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?

Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!

Über Sternen muß er wohnen.

English translation:

O friends, not these tones!
But let’s strike up more agreeable ones,
And more joyful.

Joy!
Joy!

Joy, beautiful spark of Divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Heavenly one, thy sanctuary!
Thy magic binds again
What custom strictly divided;
All people become brothers,
Where thy gentle wing abides.

Whoever has succeeded in the great attempt,
To be a friend’s friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Add his to the jubilation!
Yes, and also whoever has just one soul
To call his own in this world!
And he who never managed it should slink
Weeping from this union!

All creatures drink of joy
At nature’s breasts.
All the Just, all the Evil
Follow her trail of roses.
Kisses she gave us and grapevines,
A friend, proven in death.
Ecstasy was given to the worm
And the cherub stands before God.

Gladly, as His suns fly
through the heavens’ grand plan
Go on, brothers, your way,
Joyful, like a hero to victory.

Be embraced, Millions!
This kiss to all the world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
There must dwell a loving Father.
Are you collapsing, millions?
Do you sense the creator, world?
Seek him above the starry canopy!
Above stars must He dwell

The symphony was dedicated to the King of Prussia, Frederick William III.  While the reception of the symphony across the ages has been overwhelmingly positive, the final movement in particular had its early detractors, with some calling it “cryptic and eccentric” or “the product of a deaf and aging composer”.  The great opera composer Giuseppe Verdi said of the final movement, “The alpha and omega is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, marvelous in the first three movements, very badly set in the last. No one will ever approach the sublimity of the first movement, but it will be an easy task to write as badly for voices as in the last movement. And supported by the authority of Beethoven, they will all shout: "That's the way to do it...".  It is true that some of the vocal writing is impossibly high to sing for even the best professional choruses, something Beethoven would repeat to an even greater degree in his massive Missa Solemnis.  Nevertheless, Verdi’s opinion is very much in the minority.

One of the most significant controversies with Beethoven’s Ninth is the tempi from the original metronome markings, and to what extent they should be followed.  Some of Beethoven’s original metronome indications, meaning the tempo set for different sections of music, are almost unbelievably fast.  There is speculation that Beethoven’s own metronome was not calibrated correctly, and thus his markings could not possibly be correct.  In performance tradition, conductors have generally ignored Beethoven’s indications, and have slowed things down considerably.

However, with the historically informed performance movement, there was an attempt to take Beethoven at his word, and to actually play it the way it is written for the most part.  This proved to be controversial as conductors such as Roger Norrington, John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Charles Mackerras, and many others made new recordings based on the faster tempi.  Others such as Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, David Zinman, and Claudio Abbado (in his later years) took more of a middle ground, adopting tempi that were quicker than tradition dictated in some sections, but still somewhat slower than the period instrument and historically informed purists.  Conductors who lived before the HIP movement, or those that choose to follow late 19th century and most of the 20th century tradition such as Furtwangler, Klemperer, Kempe, Karajan, Bernstein, Bohm, Solti, Fricsay, Szell, and Ormandy generally slowed things down considerably in the belief that they were presenting Beethoven’s intentions as closely as possible while maintaining the feeling of an epic drama as it unfolds with realistic tempi.  

The German conducting tradition from the mid-19th century through at least the middle of the 20th century was to present Beethoven’s Ninth as a monumental piece of art not to be rushed through. Wagner himself suggested some “improvements” to the orchestration, as well as more flexible speeds as he often used in his own works.  Wagner’s ideas caught on, and remained standard practice for over a century.  

So we are left with the question of what Beethoven’s actual intentions were, and as the late conductor Sir Charles Mackerras says, “A glance at the score will show that Beethoven had a very different concept of how his symphony should be played.  The metronome marks show the tempi that the Master wanted, and if they occasionally err on the rapid side, due to the then completely deaf Beethoven pounding on the piano to his nephew Karl, they must approximate his wishes…in general, the markings are quite clear and I believe that every Beethoven interpreter should take them seriously.” Mackerras’ viewpoint is not universally shared by any means.  Despite the metronome markings, I am not convinced faster is better.  

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has influenced countless other works by composers such as Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorak, and Bartok.  In particular, the main theme in the finale of Brahms’ Symphony no. 1 is a paraphrase of the “Ode to Joy” theme, as Brahms admitted.  Some have even derided Brahms’ First Symphony by calling it Beethoven’s Tenth.  You are probably also aware that the Ode to Joy theme has been used for any number of TV show introductions, commercials, national anthems, as well as the religious hymn “Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee”.

The movie Immortal Beloved, panned by some critics as being too melodramatic and taking too many liberties, was accurate when it showed the premiere performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna.  Beethoven had insisted on conducting the performance, but due to his deafness, the organizers of the concert refused his request.  However, they did permit Beethoven to stand on the stage alongside the conductor.  It was clear to all present that Beethoven’s deafness prevented him from conducting correctly, but nonetheless he stood and waved his arms to the music.  When the symphony finished, Beethoven remained in front of the orchestra, but had no idea the audience was applauding behind him until one of the female soloists turned him around to see the adulation.

It is clear, for all of the Ninth’s innovation, controversy, structural and performance issues, it remains a landmark piece of art for humanity, and for all that is noble and great in our world.

Recordings

At one time I was obsessed with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and in addition to owning 40+ recordings, I was able to attend at least four live performances.  I became intrigued by different interpretations, conductors, recording qualities, and soloists.  Over time I probably became overly fussy with regard to recordings, what I liked and what I didn’t, in relation to specific parts of the symphony.  The truth is I probably listened to the symphony too much, and so I had to take a break for a long while. I returned to it again in recent years, hopefully with fresh ears.

I know purists will say there can’t be two best recordings. But when it comes to Beethoven’s Ninth, there are two top recordings.

Top Choice #1

My first pick for Beethoven’s Ninth is by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus of St. Hedwig’s Cathedral conducted by Ferenc Fricsay, with soloists Irmgard Seefried, Maureen Forrester, Ernst Haefliger, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.  Recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in 1957, this is overall the most satisfying recording of the Ninth in clear early stereo sound, led by one of my favorite conductors.  I believe, if not for his premature death, Fricsay may have become as well-known as Karajan, Bernstein, Szell, and Ormandy.  The solo singing and involvement by chorus and orchestra are tremendous.  Fricsay has some similarities with Furtwangler, but holds a consistent pulse better, and is given much better sound.  The thematic and structural challenges are handled with great success.  The rhythmic buoyancy in the Molto Vivace is captured marvelously.  Even though the Adagio is taken rather slowly, Fricsay is ever sensitive to the changing moods. Soloists Seefried and Fischer-Dieskau are in particularly excellent form in the Finale, and the balance between the orchestra and chorus is ideally spaced.  Fricsay never spills over into bombast, but rather keeps a clear-headed approach throughout.  This was Deutsche Grammophon’s first stereo recording with the Berlin Philharmonic, and the orchestra sounds lean and muscular here.  The recording was made in the spacious acoustic of the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin and the sound holds up remarkably well.  For me, this performance and recording are ideal for both listeners that are new to Beethoven’s Ninth, as well as more seasoned listeners.  

Top Choice #2

The legendary Wilhelm Furtwangler is the conductor most associated with Beethoven’s Ninth, particularly because of historic recordings and performances from the 1940s and 1950s.  His way with Beethoven was very much in the style of Wagner, and the German performance tradition from the late 1800s.  Furtwangler believed music was essentially symbolic and subjective, and therefore ever changing as though it is a living, organic thing.  For him the score was a guide, nothing more.  So what you hear with Furtwangler, more than with other conductors, is going beyond the score to reveal a real interpretation of the music.  You get the sense Furtwangler had an uncanny knack for understanding, controlling, and producing sound which fully realized the notes as they related to rhythms, and how the whole sound picture related to the tempo chosen.  This is why, even while his recordings are slower than most recordings out there, inside the music he was supremely skilled at bringing out the drama through  accelerating, slowing down, and playing louder or softer.  One feels as though they are taken on a journey, not just hearing notes repeated off a page.  

Detractors claim Furtwangler was often sloppy, did not believe in rehearsing much, and would often miss details.  Although the critics are in the minority, it is certainly true that Furtwangler’s recordings were often compromised sonically even by standards of the day, and that in general he did not value making recordings.

Furtwangler’s recording with the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra at the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival in July 1951, recorded live by EMI, is the stuff of legend and reaches rare heights. The soloists are Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth Hongen, Hans Hopf, and Otto Edelmann.  Clocking in at a healthy 74’32”, this remains one of the greatest recordings ever made (indeed it is included in my Top 50 Classical Recordings of all time).  While no single recording of such a great work will ever tell us everything we need to know about a piece of music, this one comes the closest in my opinion.  The spiritual intensity, concentration, atmosphere, quality of the singing, and insightful conducting have rarely been matched in the history of classical music.      

The history of this particular recording is rather interesting.  Originally broadcast and recorded live in 1951, it was not released on LP by EMI until 1954.  What was not realized for many years was that legendary producer Walter Legge sat on the recording for a while, and instead of releasing it as it was broadcast, decided to supplement certain parts with sections that actually came from a few of the rehearsals.  The EMI (now Warner) release was edited and “improved”, and thus is not the unabridged live performance.  It still sounds pretty good in its most recent remastering that was done in 2021, and released as part of the recent retrospective of Furtwangler on Warner Classics.  It is well worth hearing.  But other incarnations, particularly the one on the Orfeo label, sound better than the EMI/Warner version.  

As Rob Cowan says in Gramophone Magazine,

“Wilhelm Furtwängler’s way with Beethoven’s Choral Symphony approximates a shared ritual.  It is quite literally spellbinding, whether in the slowly clearing mists and rocky ravines of the first movement, the Dionysian dancing of the second, the sublime sweetness and stillness of the third or the wild vicissitudes of mood and execution in the choral finale, where following the biblical-sounding low string recitatives at the beginning and a long, suspenseful pause, Furtwangler ushers in the ‘Ode to Joy’ as if from the far distance.  The theme itself builds with ecstatic abandon, wrapped in expressive counterpoint, while Furtwangler has the Bayreuth chorus hold chords where other choirs would run out of breath.  The march episode (Hans Hopf, tenor) forges impulsively forwards and the fugue that follows argues a furious response…at the close of the work Furtwangler takes Beethoven at his word with a breathless prestissimo, hurtling towards the heavens at breakneck speed…I’m not claiming this performance will suit every mood or even every taste, but if and when it does hit target it will leave you changed forever.”

Furtwangler recorded Beethoven’s Ninth several other times as well, including a famous war-time performance in Berlin from 1942 (found on various labels).  While that performance is electric with an undertone of dread and doom that is palpable, and although it has many of the same virtues as the 1951 recording from Bayreuth, the sound is just too compromised for it to be fully enjoyed.  Another recording from the Lucerne Festival in 1954 on the Audite label is loved by many listeners and critics as well, although I don’t find it to be as urgent or compelling as the Bayreuth recording.            

The music critic Richard Osborne writes, 

“Though Furtwangler conducted the Ninth more than 90 times between 1913 and 1954, he generally reserved it for special occasions.  None was more special, musically or politically, than the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951 - not least because of Wagner’s own influence on the performing history of the Ninth.  When Wagner heard the conductor Habeneck conduct the Ninth in Paris in 1839, it was a revelation.  Far from gabbling the first movement, turning it into a rag bag of uncoordinated themelets, Habeneck’s meticulously rehearsed players sang it over a continuously modified pulse.  This was to be Wagner’s way, and Furtwangler’s:  a flexibly conceived discourse attentive to every nuance of Beethoven’s elaborately inflected text.  

In 1951, Bayreuth clearly wanted the Ninth to be conducted by the work’s greatest exponent, but Furtwangler, not uncharacteristically, was racked by indecision.  As the minutes of the Association of the Friends of Bayreuth reveal, he said “yes” three times, “no” five times and only finally agreed to appear after receiving assurances that the new Bayreuth was going to be ‘Richard Wagner’s’ Bayreuth, and not Herbert von Karajan’s.  

After the performance of the Ninth, producer Walter Legge appeared in Furtwangler’s dressing room and announced: ‘A good performance, but not as good as it might have been.’  It took Furtwangler the better part of 48 hours to recover from this barb.  According to his wife, Elisabeth, an unscheduled roadside stop and walk in a wood during the journey home was what finally calmed his mind.”

I should forewarn you that the Bayreuth Ninth is a historical recording and as such it has sonic limitations.  Furthermore, it is taken from a live recording at Bayreuth, a venue location notoriously difficult to record well.  The Orfeo remastering is the best to my ears, allowing you to hear just how cosmic and shattering this performance actually is, but you may also want to sample other versions to decide for yourself.  

Top Live Choice

The late German conductor Klaus Tennstedt conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra for many years, most notably in acclaimed live recordings of Mahler’s music.  However, he also made several live Beethoven recordings, and his 1992 recording of the Ninth from Royal Albert Hall in London is the best among them (although not released until 2007).  Released on the LPO’s own label, the sound balance is not ideal and parts are recorded at a low level, as was common from the venue and the chorus is recessed.  You may need to crank the volume a bit (beware the timpani and trumpets though, they are shattering).  Tennstedt was consistently better live than in the studio, and this is a perfect example.  This is a broad, atmospheric, electric reading with Tennstedt doing his best Furtwangler impression.  Bass Rene Pape is outstanding and tenor Anthony Rolfe Johnson is brilliant as usual.  Truth be told the great soprano Lucia Popp is past her prime here but still distinctive, and Ann Murray is solid.

“Historically Informed” Choice

Cellist, musical scholar, and conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt joined with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe to record a complete Beethoven symphony cycle, released in 1991 on the Teldec label (now Warner) to great acclaim.  Harnoncourt’s approach was rather novel, which was to use an orchestra playing modern instruments that also employs historically informed playing practices, and so the result is a wonderful hybrid if you will.  You have the incisiveness and bite of period playing techniques along with modern instruments that create a warmer sound.  While other HIP recordings can come across as missing the romanticism of Beethoven, Harnoncourt is able to create a sound world with the COE that shows both the revolutionary nature of Beethoven, while also transparently showcasing the lyricism and power of the Ninth.  Speeds are brisk but never rushed, and it doesn’t sound as thin and underpowered as some other HIP recordings.  The soloists are very good, with the possible exception of the tenor Rudolf Schasching whose voice is too lightweight and is frankly underwhelming.  I admit in general I have some trouble enjoying period instrument performances of the Ninth, but Harnoncourt was never less than interesting, and at his best was absolutely brilliant.  The sound is clear and resonant.

Other recordings of note

There are certainly other excellent recordings of Beethoven’s Ninth you will want to hear.  Of Herbert von Karajan’s many recordings, the best performance was live with the New York Philharmonic (Urania 1958), but the sound is quite poor and rather distant.  His best overall recording is with the Berlin Philharmonic (DG 1962), a fine performance in good stereo sound.  Leonard Bernstein’s valedictory performance recorded after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 (DG 1989) is unique and I treasure it, but his finest overall recording of the Ninth was with the Vienna Philharmonic recorded live as part of a complete Beethoven cycle (DG 1979), complete with excellent soloists and chorus.  I have always enjoyed Erich Leinsdorf’s crisp and clear recording from 1969 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra with a young Placido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes in his prime (RCA/Sony 1969).  German conductor Gunter Wand recorded the Ninth in 1989 with the North German Radio Symphony, in one of the most satisfying accounts.  Claudio Abbado recorded a wonderful Ninth live at the Salzburg Festival soon after becoming the director of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1996 (Sony 1996) with soloists Bryn Terfel, Ben Heppner, and Jane Eaglen all in their prime.  Other selected recordings you may want to hear include Karl Bohm (DG 1979), Arturo Toscanini (RCA/Sony 1952), Herbert Blomstedt both Dresden (Brilliant 1980) and Leipzig (Accentus 2015), Mariss Jansons (BR Klassik 2012), Otto Klemperer (EMI/Warner 1958), and Sir Charles Mackerras (EMI/Warner1991).                                                

Thank you for reading, and join us next time for #3 on our Building a Collection list:  Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5.

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Notes:

"Beethoven Foundation – Schiller's "An die Freude" and Authoritative Translation". Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.

Bonds, Mark Evan, "Symphony: II. The 19th century", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition (London: Macmillan, 2001), 29 vols. ISBN 0-333-60800-3, 24:837. 

Brennan, Gerald. Schrott, Allen. Woodstra, Chris.  All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide.  All Media Guide. Pp. 104-105.  Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.

Cook, Nicholas (1993). Beethoven: Symphony No. 9. Cambridge Music Handbooks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39039-7.

Cowan, Rob (2022). Review of Beethoven Symphony No. 9, “Choral”, Op. 125. Gramophone Magazine. March 2022. Pp 32-33. 

Letter of April 1878 in Giuseppe Verdi: Autobiografia delle Lettere, Aldo Oberdorfer ed., Milano, 1941, p. 325.

Mackerras, Charles. Remarks on the tempi in this recording. Beethoven Symphony No. 9 “Choral”. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras. EMI Eminence. Liner Notes. 1991.

Mann, William.  Ludwig van Beethoven:  Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 “Choral”.  Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Otto Klemperer.  EMI Records Ltd. Liner Notes.  1981.

Norrington, Roger (14 March 2009). "In tune with the time". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 May 2013.

Osborne, Richard. Beethoven Symphony No. 9. Wiener Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle. EMI Classics Liner Notes. 2003.

Rosen, Charles. The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. p. 440. New York: Norton, 1997.

Sachs, Harvey (2010). The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824. Faber and Faber.

Solomon, Maynard. Beethoven. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997.

Solomon, Maynard (April 1975). "Beethoven: The Nobility Pretense". The Musical Quarterly. 61 (2): 272–294. doi:10.1093/mq/LXI.2.272. JSTOR 741620.

Sture Forsén, Harry B. Gray, L. K. Olof Lindgren, and Shirley B. Gray. October 2013. "Was Something Wrong with Beethoven's Metronome?", Notices of the American Mathematical Society 60(9):1146–53.

Taruskin, Richard (2010). Music in the Nineteenth Century. The Oxford History of Western Music. Vol. 3. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 747–751. ISBN 978-0-19-538483-3.

van Dyke, Henry (2004). The Poems of Henry van Dyke. Netherlands: Fredonia Books. ISBN 1410105741.

Wilhelm Furtwängler, CD Wilhelm Furtwängler in Memoriam FURT 1090–1093, Tahra, 2004, p. 54.

Wolff, Konrad.  Beethoven Symphony no. 9 “Choral”.  Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Robert Shaw.  Intersound Inc. Liner Notes. 1992.