Ode to Joy Proms. The song's Christian context was one of the main reasons for Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism to excommunicate the Soka Gakkai organization for their use of the hymn at their meetings. Other musical settings of the poem include: Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" (German: ), is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in "Thalia". A slightly revised version appeared in 1808, changing two lines of the first and omitting the last stanza. "Ode to Joy" is best known for its use by Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) version of the Choral Fantasy theme is found in the song "Gegenliebe" (Returned Love) for piano and high voice, which dates from before 1795. According to Robert W. Gutman, Mozart's K. 222 Offertory in D minor, "Misericordias Domini", written in 1775, contains a melody that foreshadows "Ode to Joy". Although his major works had primarily been premiered in Vienna, Beethoven was keen to have his latest composition performed in Berlin as soon as possible after finishing it, as he thought that musical taste in Vienna had become dominated by Italian composers such as Rossini. When his friends and financiers heard