BOOK/MAGAZINE: 'The Ninth' Brings Beethoven's Life, Music into Brilliant Focus

The familiar story of Ludwig van Beethoven and the premiere of his Symphony No. 9 in D Minor in Vienna in 1824 may be the most piteous in all music history. Stunning, precedent-shattering music fills a packed hall, the audience applauds wildly. The aging composer, who by then was totally deaf, can't hear it; someone tugs at his sleeve so he turns around to see the standing ovation...

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