Choral symphony Choral symphony A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir, and sometimes solo vocalists that, in its internal workings and overall musical architecture, adheres broadly to symphonic musical form. The term "choral symphony" in this context was coined by Hector Berlioz when he described his "Roméo et Juliette" as such in his five-paragraph introduction to that work. The direct antecedent for the choral symphony is Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's Ninth incorporates part of the "Ode an die Freude" ("Ode to Joy"), a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and chorus in the last
Symphony No. 10 (Beethoven/Cooper) by Universal Edition, Vienna, and appeared in a new edition in 2013. After completing the Ninth Symphony in 1824, Beethoven devoted his energies largely to composing his late string quartets, although there are contemporary references to some work on a symphony (e.g. in his letter of 18 March 1827); allegedly he played a movement of this piece on the piano for his friend Karl Holz, whose description of what he heard matches the sketches identified by Cooper. Cooper claimed that he found over 250 bars of sketches for the first movement, which he wove together to form the movement, keeping