Anthem of Europe Anthem of Europe "Anthem of Europe" is the anthem of the Council of Europe and the European Union. It is based on "Ode to Joy" from the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony composed in 1823, and is played on official occasions by both organisations. Friedrich Schiller wrote the poem "An die Freude" ("To Joy") in 1785 as a "celebration of the brotherhood of man". In later life, the poet was contemptuous of this popularity and dismissed the poem as typical of "the bad taste of the age" in which it had been written. After Schiller's death, the poem provided
Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven) Meyerbeer and Antonio Salieri, The Italian guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani played cello at the premiere. The piece was very well received, such that the audience demanded the "Allegretto" movement be encored immediately. Spohr made particular mention of Beethoven's antics on the rostrum ("as a "sforzando" occurred, he tore his arms with a great vehemence asunder ... at the entrance of a "forte" he jumped in the air"), and "the friends of Beethoven made arrangements for a repetition of the concert" by which "Beethoven was extricated from his pecuniary difficulties". The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets