Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) a symphony (thus making it a choral symphony). The words are sung during the final movement by four vocal soloists and a chorus. They were taken from the "Ode to Joy", a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803, with text additions made by the composer. In 2001, Beethoven's original, hand-written manuscript of the score, held by the Berlin State Library, was added to the United Nations Memory of the World Programme Heritage list, becoming the first musical score so designated. The Philharmonic Society of London originally commissioned the symphony in 1817. The main composition work
Symphony No. 8 (Beethoven) C from the opening finally gets an "explanation": “and now it appears that Beethoven has held that note in reserve, wherewith to batter at the door of some immensely distant key. Out bursts the theme then, in F sharp minor.” A few bars later, there is a stunning modulation in which this key is "hammered down" by a semitone, arriving instantaneously at the home key of F major. The symphony ends in good humour on a very long passage of loud tonic harmony. Tchaikovsky called this movement, "One of the greatest symphonic masterpieces of Beethoven." Symphony No. 8 (Beethoven) The