MUSEUM

J. P. Morgan Museum and Library
Beethoven's Ninth: A Masterpiece Reunited

When the New York Phiharmonic recently play Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, we attended a pre-concert lecture presented by the Music Curator for the Bristish Museum.  He had brought with him one of the three original manuscripts of Beethoven's 9th.  He told us then that the Morgan Museum had one of the copies that is owned by Juilliard.  He was going to leave the British copy so the two originals, Juilliard and British Museum, could be viewed side by side.

In 2002, Beethoven's autograph score of the Ninth Symphony, which is kept in Berlin, was added to the United Nations World Heritage List, becoming the first musical score to be so honored.

I have an application on Carolyn's iPad that has the 9th conducted by 5 different conductors.  Each performance allows the viewing of the conductor, the full score as the music is played or a focused score on the moving, importrant parts as the music moves along.  To hear the music with your eyes closed is sublime.  To SEE the creation of the music as the score moves along is unbelievable.  Beethoven "put notes" everywhere in so many combinations that then come together in such a magnificent way.

Seeing that score below on a piece of paper and then beholding the magic when it is performed by musicians is a wonder.  Interestingly, Beethoven was completely deaf at the time of the writing and first performnaces of this piece.  For him, the music existed only as written on the paper and as heard in his mind.   Admire the music.  Revere the composer.

As part of the Bicentenary celebrations of the Royal Philharmonic Society, the Morgan will display two historic copyist scores of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, marking the first time they have been brought together since their creation in 1824. The Morgan's presentation offers a rare opportunity to view these united scores of Beethoven's masterpiece, the Society's most famous commission and undoubtedly one of the greatest works of classical music.

As early as 1817 the Philharmonic Society tried to interest Ludwig van Beethoven in composing two symphonies for them, with the hopes that the composer would premiere the works in London. Not until 1822 was an agreement reached for the commission of the work that would become the Ninth Symphony. Although a copyist manuscript made its way to England in 1824—bearing Beethoven's dedication, "Geschrieben für die Philharmonische Gesellschaft in London" (written for the Philharmonic Society in London) on its title page—the composer did not. Instead, Beethoven supervised the premiere of the symphony in Vienna on May 7, 1824, while Sir George Smart used the copyist manuscript to direct the first London performance by the Philharmonic Society on March 21, 1825. The copyist manuscript, annotated by the composer and used for the Vienna premiere, was sent to B. Schott to prepare the first published edition of the work that appeared in 1826. The display is the first time that the Society's score—annotated by Smart—will be displayed alongside the printer's manuscript that now resides in the collection of the Juilliard Manuscript Collection.

This display has been funded by the Royal Philharmonic Society as part of their Bicentenary celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic. New York celebrations in October 2013 include concerts, talks, and lectures at The Juilliard School and Lincoln Center, and performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony alongside the U.S. premiere of a new work by Mark-Antony Turnage inspired by Beethoven's masterwork by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.