Creating Joy, Under All Conditions

EVERYBODY WHO LIKES CLASSICAL MUSIC has a favorite Beethoven symphony. As he wrote them, they tended to become longer, and, most people believe, better, culminating with the magnificent ninth symphony, his final and perhaps greatest achievement. When I listen to the ninth, I turn up the fourth movement loud, real loud, after the fashion of a teenager from 1973, big engine growling, windows rolled down, Deep Purple blaring out the window on eight track, and down the street. Give it a try sometime. (Beethoven's ninth, not Deep Purple) Its a magnificent experience, one you'll never forget. Particularly the voices in the latter part of the movement. Particularly the female voices. Like goddesses, serenading us from heaven. Incredibly, Beethoven, who took about four years to write the ninth, the "Ode to Joy" symphony, was almost totally deaf during its composition. He never heard it, except in his imagination. But he put every note in place, perfectly. There is a lesson for all of us in Beethoven. First, be careful what you wish for. Beethoven's Third symphony, the "Eroica", or "Hero" symphony, was Beethoven's tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte, the new liberator of Europe. About a decade later, after a decade of Napoleon, Beethoven wrote the ninth, the "Ode to Joy', because of ths great joy he, and millions of other Europenas felt, at the defeat and departure of the Emporer Napoleon. During Beethoven's time, European culture was full of great music, but questionable political processes, let us say. The greatest lesson from Beethoven, however, is: follow your passion, and conquer that mountain, even if you never get to completely experience the joy of it yourself.