Friedrich Schiller van Beethoven said that a great poem is more difficult to set to music than a merely good one because the composer must rise higher than the poet – "who can do that in the case of Schiller? In this respect Goethe is much easier," wrote Beethoven. There are relatively few famous musical settings of Schiller's poems. Notable exceptions are Beethoven's setting of "An die Freude" ("Ode to Joy") in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony, Johannes Brahms' choral setting of "Nänie" and "Des Mädchens Klage" by Franz Schubert, who set 44 of Schiller's poems as Lieder, mostly for
A Song of Joy at number 14 and was the only Top 40 hit for Ríos. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 16 on the British pop chart. In Germany, the song is the most successful pop hymn ever. The single sold over four million copies worldwide. A Song of Joy "A Song of Joy" ("Himno de la alegría") is the title of a popular rock song by the Spanish singer and actor Miguel Ríos. The song is set to the tune the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, as arranged by Waldo de los Rios, who specialized in arranging classical music