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Centro de Artes e Espectáculos
Symphony No. 9 (A chorale), premiered in 1824, Beethoven’s last, is considered to be the precursor to Romanticism, since for the first time a major composer incorporated the human voice as a structural element into a symphony, giving it as much importance as the instruments. The work thus became a model used by countless other musicians (from Mahler to Berio) in the following centuries.
The text, an extract from Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy, is sung in the last movement. The symphony’s vehement humanistic commitment has made it a symbol of fraternity – it was even chosen as the Anthem of the European Union, in an arrangement by Herbert von Karajan. It is one of the most loved and performed works in the world’s musical repertoire. The two great artistic bodies of the São Carlos National Theatre have teamed up countless times to perform it. The fact that they sing it once again “with joy” (Schiller) is proof of the composition’s immortality.
Soprano: Susana Gaspar | Mid-soprano: Maria Luísa de Freitas | Tenor: Luís Gomes Bass: Luís Rodrigues | Musical Director: Antonio Pirolli
Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa | Coro do Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Giampaolo Vessella, Principal Conductor)
MUSIC | M/6 | Duration: 1h20 | Admission: €20.00 (with discounts) | Grand Auditorium
