Sounding a Note of Freedom:
Beethoven’s Ninth in Tiananmen Square and at the Berlin Wall
Emily Robinson
CC-325-D Citizens of the World
MUS-319-A Late Romantic & Modern Music
Professor Dr. Jennifer Prough
Professor Dr. Katharina Uhde
May 6, 2016
Honor Code: I have neither given or received, nor have I tolerated others’ use of unauthorized aid.
ABSTRACT
The fact that Beethoven’s Ninth was performed at Tiananmen Square, China and Berlin,
Germany in 1989 demonstrates the symphony’s potential for communicating across differences
of time and culture. By closely examining the first seventeen measures of Ludwig van
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, first movement “Allegro ma non troppo un
poco maestoso” as well as the student protests in Tiananmen Square, China and the Christmas
Day celebration concert led by Leonard Bernstein in Berlin, Germany in 1989, this paper argues
that the enduring significance of the Ninth Symphony is possible because of the penetrating
themes of brotherhood, creation, and freedom. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is still a
work that speaks to contemporary political events where the themes of brotherhood, creation,
and freedom are present within the political movements. When Beethoven composed this work
in the early nineteenth century, he may have been able to recognize the uniqueness of the work
since this was the first time a choir was called for in a symphonic score. The uniqueness and
grandeur of this work endures today as Symphony No. 9 continues to be regularly performed
around the world, proclaiming its themes of brotherhood, creation, and freedom.
Emily Robinson If you are familiar with the Peanuts comic strip (FIGURE 1), you know that Schroeder
plays only Beethoven on his little piano. This comic strip from December 16, 1964 illustrates the
prevalence of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in popular culture. The Ninth might also be a
popular piece because it is so frequently performed. In December of 1991 alone there were one
hundred and sixty-two performance of the symphony.1 Symphony No. 9 provides a common
ground for a shared experience across culture. Levy argues, “When understood and perceived in
the spirit of the ennobling forces that motivated its composer, however, the Ninth Symphony has
proved itself capable of speaking to the highest aspirations of humanity, of wielding power for
the good.”2 The symphony must then, through common experience, be able to influence the
people who listen to it. A National Public Radio (NPR) article relates events in China and
Germany that occurred in 1989 by saying, “The students in Beijing and Berlin…recognize the
urgency of its [the Ninth Symphony’s] message.”3
The fact that Beethoven’s Ninth was performed at Tiananmen Square, China and Berlin,
Germany in 1989 demonstrates its enduring significance with its themes of brotherhood,
creation, and freedom. To demonstrate that these themes can be found within the music of
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 the first seventeen measures of the symphony will be closely
analyzed. Then the two events will be discussed tracing the political history as well as the themes
of brotherhood, creation, and freedom within the student movements at Tiananmen Square and
the celebration concert on December 25, 1989 in Berlin, Germany. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
is still a work that speaks to political events where the themes of brotherhood, creation, and
freedom are present.
1
David Benjamin Levy, Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony (New York: Schirmer Books, 1995).
Ibid, 17.
3
“Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125,” last modified June 16, 2006,
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5487727.
2
3 Emily Robinson BEETHOVEN’S SYMPHONY NO. 9
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is one of the pillars in Western classical music. He
bridged the Classical period (c. 1750-c. 1830) and the early Romantic period (c. 1830-1860) in
the styles of his compositions. Scholars generally view Beethoven’s works in three periods—
beginning, middle, and late. During the middle period in 1802, Beethoven wrote what has now
become known as the Heiligenstädter Testament.4 He was growing deaf and was almost
convinced that he no longer had reason to live. But, in a poignant letter, Beethoven realizes and
admits that he has more music to share with the world. He says, “Such incidents drove me almost
to despair; a little more of that and I would have ended my life - it was only my art that held me
back…. Thanks…to my art, I did not end my life by suicide.”5 This is a defining moment in
Beethoven’s life and certainly influenced his music after 1802.
The late period of Beethoven’s works, in which he returns to counterpoint, explores
expanded ranges, and challenges typical compositional forms, begins, depending on the
scholarship, as early as 1813, with the premiere of Wellington’s Victory and Symphony No. 7.6
However, for the purposes of this paper, the late period of Beethoven will be dated as 1815,
taking note that Symphony No. 9 was the only symphony composed during this time. Rather than
focusing on grandiose works like symphonies, Beethoven focused on what are known as the Late
String Quartets. Characteristics of the music composed from 1815-1827 are a wide range of
dynamic contrast from pianissimo to fortissimo, expanded instrumental registers, radical
4
“Ludwig van Beethoven,” Oxford Music Online, accessed April 4, 2016,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40026#S40026.
5
“Ludwig Van Beethoven-Heiligenstädter Testament,” New York University, accessed April 4, 2016,
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/gilbert/classic/heiligenstadt.html.
6
The exact dates of the periodization of Beethoven’s works are dependent on how musicologists view the events
that occurred in his life as well as the actual compositions themselves. The compositions of the late period explore a
range from the sublime (Symphony No. 9) to the naïve (the late string quartets). The works composed in the years
1813-1815 are often considered transitional works as some lean more toward the style of the middle period, while
others lean more towards the style of the late period. 4 Emily Robinson harmonies, counterpoint techniques similar to the Baroque period, and “strange experiments”
that involved making bass voices unusually high in their range and the violins play in a low
register.7 Twenty-two years after the Heiligenstädter Testament, in 1824, two of Beethoven’s
greatest works were premiered, the “Missa solemnis” in April and one month later, the Ninth
Symphony was premiered at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, Austria.
Even though the symphony was premiered in 1824, there are traces in Beethoven’s
sketchbooks to the compositional ideas found in the symphony as early as 1792.8 In January of
1793, a professor of jurisprudence in Bonn, Germany, wrote to the German poet Friedrich
Schiller’s wife saying, “He [Beethoven] proposes to compose Schiller’s Freude strophe by
strophe. I expect something perfect, since he is wholly devoted to the great and the sublime.”9
Freude appears in the final movement of the Ninth Symphony, sung by soloists and a choir.
However Beethoven did not begin composing this work until late 1822, with most of the work
done in 1823, and a complete symphony by March 1824. The opening movements of the
symphony can be seen as a musical representation of real-world experience with an
“unmistakable ethical aura.”10 Symphony No. 9, according to the Oxford Music Online
dictionary, is “the coalescence of several diverse elements that had been stirring in his
[Beethoven’s] imagination.” It fulfilled the “symphonic ideal” with the work’s forcefulness,
expanded ranges, the radical intent, and “contriving to create the impression of a psychological
journey or growth process.”11 These elements are frequently understood to be seen in the fourth
movement when the chorus joins in singing Schiller’s Freude, but they are already alluded to and
present in the opening movement.
7
“Ludwig van Beethoven.”
Levy, Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony, 18.
9
“Ludwig van Beethoven.”
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid. 8
5 Emily Robinson On the day of the Ninth’s premiere, Beethoven’s Op. 125 was the concert’s overture. The
concert continued with the Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei from the Missa solemnis. Then the new
symphony was played. The theater in Vienna was crowded and the audience enthusiastically
received Beethoven’s compositions. There is a story that Beethoven, who was deaf by this time,
did not hear the ardent applause of the audience so that someone had to motion to him to turn
around and bow in order to receive the audience’s applause since they were so grateful and
astounded by the symphony. Interestingly, sixteen days later the symphony was performed again
to a much less enthusiastic audience.12 Audiences today can relate to these first two audiences.
Some critics and audiences regard the Ninth Symphony “as a monstrous folly. Others can only
see in it the parting gleams of an expiring genius.”13 In his book Beethoven: The Ninth
Symphony, a well-known Beethoven scholar David Levy states, “The enthusiastic response it
continues to elicit argues eloquently for its continued power and relevance.”14 Perhaps famed
musicologist Richard Taruskin sums up this love-hate relationship with the symphony best by
saying that it “is among connoisseurs preeminently the Piece You Love to Hate, no less now than
a century and a half ago. Why? Because it is at once incomprehensible and irresistible, and
because it is at once awesome and naïve.”15 There is no doubt that Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
has become one of the most easily recognized pieces of classical music that can be understood in
a variety of ways, depending on the occasion and the audience.
Symphony No. 9 is a monumental work. For this reason, this paper will focus only on the
first seventeen measures of the first movement, “Allegro ma non troppo un poco maestoso.”
Considering the history of the symphonic genre, especially in Beethoven’s symphonies, already
12
“Ludwig van Beethoven.”
Hector Berlioz, A Critical Study of Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies, trans. Edwin Evans Sr. (London: Wm. Reeves,
1913), 103.
14
Levy, Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony, 6.
15
“Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125.”
13
6 Emily Robinson in these first seventeen measures it is possible to see the ideas and themes that will be developed
through the whole four-movement work. In fact, it is practically impossible to listen to the Ninth
Symphony without anticipating the final movement and the choral singing of “Freude, schoener
Götterfunken.”16 But this is precisely why the first seventeen bars must be closely analyzed in
order to discuss the theme of this symphony. Already the listener can anticipate and expect the
final chorus of brotherhood and freedom. Schiller’s poem speaks strongly about brotherhood and
there are some hints of the theme of freedom, but it is Beethoven who brings the idea of freedom
to light in his symphony.17 Writer Benjamin Carlson, who points to Harvey Sachs’s book The
Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 in an article in The Atlantic, says that the Ninth is “a
statement of freedom in the repressive political environment of Europe after the Congress of
Vienna…[a] quest for freedom: political freedom, from the repressive conditions that then
dominated Europe, and freedom of expression, certainly, but above all freedom of the mind and
spirit.”18 If Sachs is correct, it should be possible to see the themes of freedom and brotherhood
as a political statement within the music of the Ninth. However, there is a third theme that
emerges in the analysis, creation. Clearly there is some sense of this within the music; otherwise
it would not have been chosen to celebrate the creation of a new Berlin after the Berlin wall fell
or to protest one government in favor of the creation of another. Brotherhood, creation, and
freedom provide a thematic lens to look through at a musical analysis of the opening seventeen
measures of the first movement of the Ninth Symphony.
16
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824).
A full analysis of Schiller’s Freude is not within the scope of this paper, but I have included it in Appendix A for
the interested reader.
18
Benjamin Carlson, “What Does Beethoven’s Ninth Mean?,” The Atlantic, September 7, 2010, accessed February
12, 2016, http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/09/what-does-beethovens-ninth-symphonymean/62556/.
17
7 Emily Robinson MUSICAL ANALYSIS
Ludwig van Beethoven was a skilled composer who knew how to “manipulate the basic
elements of the sonata style in a more comprehensive, less formalistic way then ever before,”
throwing the foundations of sonata form into question.19 This is one of the reasons that the
opening measures (1-17) are so controversial in the analysis of the Ninth. Scholars will argue
about whether or not the first seventeen measures are in fact an introduction or if they are rather
a part of the primary theme.20 The purpose of the primary theme is to introduce the first melody
of the work or the original idea that then later returns in the recapitulation. In the Ninth, this
original idea is seen later in the antecedent section of the primary theme, the beginning of the
development, and again in the recapitulation. This original idea is the opening motif first played
by the first violins followed by the violas and double basses in measures two through five (See
FIGURE 2). The motif is not a full-fledged theme, instead it is considered a motif because a
theme is more fully developed whereas a motif reappears within the same or similar structure
and is typically much shorter than a theme. Either way the same issue is at stake, deciding
whether these measures are introduction to the primary theme or the beginning of the primary
theme itself.
One of the first things to look at when solving this dilemma is the harmonic progression
beneath the motif. In measures one through sixteen there is essentially no harmonic progression.
The orchestra is consistently playing A-E. This is an open fifth and with no third, it is neither
major nor minor. An open fifth creates ambiguity for the listener because it is unclear if the
19
“Ludwig van Beethoven.”
The primary theme is the first “idea” that is presented in sonata form. It begins with the exposition, or opening
section of the sonata movement. The primary theme is supported by tonic harmonies and reappears in the
recapitulation, the third and final section of the sonata movement.
20
8 Emily Robinson harmony is leading to I or IV.21 The motion of V (A-E) to I (D-A) is the stronger implied case
here because the natural tendencies of scale degrees desire to go to I rather than IV. It is not clear
until after measure sixteen that the symphony is in the key of d minor, making the case for
motion to I stronger than motion to IV. This harmonic movement does not fully explain if the
opening sixteen measures are a part of the primary theme or instead an introduction. The
harmonic analysis does show that the sixteen measures are not beginning on a tonic chord, which
is unusual when considering standard primary themes in sonata form. These ambiguous
harmonies reappear in the recapitulation, making it seem as though Beethoven might just be
manipulating the typical structure of sonata form.
Beethoven may also be manipulating sonata form in the opening measures of the
symphony. Since the freedom motif does not begin in measure one, the first sounds that the
orchestra plays must be considered. At the opening of the Ninth, there are only three instruments
playing—two French horns, the second violins, and the cellos (FIGURE 7). This is somewhat
shocking for a symphony that in the final movement incorporates, for the first time, a chorus
along with the orchestra. To begin with such a small group of instruments playing in the opening
measure is a startling way to open such a magnificent symphony. The introduction is imperative
to have before the primary theme because of how it primes the listener for the primary theme.
These introductory sixteen measures grow to measure seventeen. Some would say the opening
measures sound as though they are coming from nothing. Others say that it sounds as if the
orchestra is still tuning. Either way, by measure two, the appearance of the motif is somewhat
surprising. As the symphony continues to progress, the music keeps growing and becoming
larger, beginning with the three instruments at the very beginning to the full orchestra in measure
21
I means the major chord built on the first scale degree in a specific key, here it would be the key of D Major. IV
means a major chord built on the fourth scale degree, here, if assuming that the A is establishing tonic, it would be
built on D.
9 Emily Robinson seventeen. Often these sixteen measures of the Ninth are referred to as creation. The long
sustained notes can be seen as a reference to the continuation of creation. Even when measure
seventeen arrives, it does not seem to be a definitive arrival. The listener is still expecting
something more. After the chorus in the final movement, it might have felt to the contemporary
audience that the symphony was now complete. But it could be argued that today’s audience
could still want something even more. Creation is never ceasing, but it always begins small. In
the case of the Ninth, it begins with only the violins, violas, and French horns.
There is another stronger argument to title these opening measures as introduction to the
primary theme. First, it must be stated that the primary theme begins with pickups to measure
seventeen. With this in mind, the “growth and intensification” of the opening measures leads to
measure seventeen and when one finally hears the downbeat of measure seventeen, there is a
sense of arrival and of belonging in that moment, even a sense of brotherhood.22 This not only
occurs harmonically, but also rhythmically in the motif that symbolizes freedom as well as the
long-notes played in the background of the motif. The first time the motif appears in measures
two and three, it is a thirty-second note followed by a quarter note (FIGURE 3). Then in measure
eleven it is a thirty-second note followed by an eighth note (FIGURE 4). Two measures later, the
motif has been transformed into a group of three sixteenth notes (FIGURE 5). As the piece
continues, there are instruments entering on half notes every four bars until measure eleven. The
next half note entrance after measure eleven is in measure thirteen in the second flute (FIGURE
6). Rhythmically, these sixteen measures have the feeling of almost rushing into measure
seventeen. Measure seventeen is the goal at the end of the opening. Therefore both harmonically
and rhythmically, the first sixteen measures should be viewed as an introduction to the primary
theme that begins with the pickups to measure seventeen.
22
James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 92.
10 Emily Robinson Throughout these seventeen measures, the greater themes of the symphony—
brotherhood, creation, and freedom—are explicitly or implicitly present. Creation is the easiest
theme to hear from the very first measure. As a NPR article put it, “The opening of the first
movement (Allegro ma not roppo, un poco maestoso) grows out of a void. Against the
murmurings of the low strings emerge falling fifths in the violins that grow to a loud and
imposing first theme; it has all been likened to the creation of the world and certainly no
symphony before had sounded anything like it.”23 But it is also possible to hear freedom and
brotherhood. There is freedom in the first violins when they present the motif that, in some ways,
feels foreign to the ostinato that the rest of the orchestra is playing. Brotherhood finally appears
in measure seventeen when the orchestra is in unison and playing homorhythimcally (FIGURE
8). The orchestra unites in brotherhood, persistent creation, and a continued desire for freedom
(as presented by the reappearance of the motif).
TIANANMEN SQUARE, BEIJING, CHINA
Tiananmen Square’s history is fraught with political turmoil and change. Already on May
4, 1919, there was a movement of students “to protest their government’s agreeing to sign the
Treaty of Versailles.”24 Thirty years later, Mao Zedong officially founded The People’s Republic
of China in Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949. In 1976, there was a counterrevolutionary
riot in Tiananmen Square.25 Therefore it is of no great surprise that in April of 1989, university
students chose this square to be the center of their protests against government corruption and
inflation, while looking for broad political and economic reforms. The students were also
23
“Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125.”
Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai. Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese (New York:
Algora Publishing, 2004), 42. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 and was only one of the peace
treaties at the end of World War I. 25
Ibid, 189, 283.
24
11 Emily Robinson marking the death of pro-reform and popular figure Hu Yaobang.26 As the university students
began protesting on April 15, they soon attracted attention from the surrounding public. 27
Eventually the protestors came to include university students, workers, professionals, and taxi
drivers; some people came even from the Chinese army supply department.28 On June 3 it felt
like, as Jonathan Mirsky recalls, “six weeks of people about to overthrow the communist regime
in China” by an entirely peaceful protest with an atmosphere of freedom and democracy, which
makes the massacre on June 3 even more shocking.29 That night a “massive military assault
aimed at smashing China’s pro-democracy demonstrations” began in Tiananmen Square.30
Within twenty-four hours that atmosphere was transformed into attitudes of anger, disbelief, and
fear. The Chinese citizens were in shock that their own government was firing at them in
Tiananmen Square.31
Part of the reason that the Tiananmen Square Massacre and Bloody Sunday (June 4)
received so much international attention was because, less than a month before, Soviet General
Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev visited China. This visit was international news and when the news
teams arrived, they saw the protests occurring and turned their attention toward them, following
the story.32 Less than a month later, the tragic loss of human life at Tiananmen Square left the
country in shock on Monday morning, June 5. There is no definitive count of lives lost within
those forty-eight hours because “the Chinese government has asserted that injuries exceeded
26
“Tiananmen Square, 1989,” United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian accessed
February 26, 2016, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/tiananmen-square.
27
“Tiananmen Square, 1989.”
28
“1989: Tiananmen Square,” YouTube video, 5:03, posted by “CNN,” October 6, 2010,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNEW1Uh0lz0.
29
“Eyewitness Account of Tiananmen Square Massacre: China Uncensored,” posted by “China Uncensored,” June
5, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YAYAUtdod8; “1989: Tiananmen Square.”
30
“Tiananmen Square Protests 1989: Chinese Soldiers Open Fire on Civilians,” YouTube video, 4:48, posted by
“ABC News,” June 4, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9AvUuEPgvA.
31
“Archive: Chinese troops fire on protesters in Tiananmen Square-BBC News,” YouTube video, 3:34, posted by
“BBC News,” June 4, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMKvxJ-Js3A.
32
“Tiananmen Square, 1989.”
12 Emily Robinson three thousand and that over two hundred individuals, including thirty-six university students,
were killed that night,” but many westerners believe these numbers to be much higher. 33
Even though China has censored the knowledge of Tiananmen Square, some citizens are
protesting, including Liu Yi, who recently painted “a series of black-and-white portraits of
people he imagined were killed by Chinese soldiers” (FIGURE 9). He said of these portraits, “I
can’t explain why, but I felt a need to do something for the people who died, once I finished the
[painting] series, I felt a kind of peace.”34 Those who protested in 1989 are now parents and they
are realizing, that according to their government, they cannot explain to their children what
Tiananmen Square means, but on the other hand these Chinese citizens are concerned about “the
gradual purge of China’s collective memory.” If their children learn about Tiananmen Square
from their parents, the government cannot fool them. It is a dilemma that they have to face every
day.35
Beethoven’s Ninth in Tiananmen Square
Feng Congde was one of the student protestors in 1989. In the film Following the Ninth,
he recalls, “I set up the first protest station. I put [in] the cassette of Beethoven [‘s] Ninth to
cover the voice of the government system. There was a real transformation. It gave us a sense of
hope. Of solidarity. All people become brothers. We just feel that…ah…we were free at last. We
gain our dignity as a human being. The tanks and machine guns killed that hope.”36 Feng Congde
is almost crying by this point in the trailer for the film. He speaks to the power of Beethoven’s
33
“Tiananmen Square, 1989.”
Anup Kaphle, “Here’s how Tiananmen lives on, 25 years after the bloody crackdown,” The Washington Post,
June 3, 2014, accessed February 26, 2016,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/06/03/heres-how-tiananmen-lives-on-25-years-afterthe-bloody-crackdown/.
35
Ibid.
36
“The ‘Ode To Joy’ As A Call To Action,” last modified January 14, 2014,
http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/01/14/262481960/the-ode-to-joy-as-a-call-to-action.
34
13 Emily Robinson Ninth Symphony. As he notes, there is a feeling in the music that creates a sense of brotherhood,
freedom, and creation, everything that the Tiananmen Square protests wanted to accomplish. The
Ninth, when played by Feng, rallied the protestors to stand fast against the government and
ignore the speakers set up by the army. He said, “I just had a feeling of winning, of triumph.”37
While, the students’ speakers were makeshift and did not provide the same deafening volume as
the military speakers, the protestors around the speakers still heard the Ninth and it renewed their
hope for a new democratic China.
Feng was not the first to think of playing the Ninth Symphony. In fact, the musicians and
choristers of the Central Philharmonic also had this idea.
In response…loaded up their instruments and drove to Tiananmen Square to boost
the spirits of the hunger-strikers—by playing Beethoven. Word of the orchestra’s
plan spread so quickly that more than 5,000 protestors had gathered even before
the instruments could be unloaded. Seated cross-legged on the ground, they
waited to hear Beethoven—but the crowds ultimately made it impossible for the
orchestra to set up, and in the end only the chorus could perform, singing songs
like ‘March of the Volunteers’ and ‘The Internationale.’ 38
It is of no surprise that Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, was chosen as a piece
to build solidarity and hope. Only five years previously the Central Philharmonic played all nine
of Beethoven’s symphonies in one season.39 The history of Beethoven in China goes back to the
early twentieth century, when the first performance by Chinese musicians and for Chinese people
37
Greg Mitchell, “For 23rd Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre: How Beethoven Rallied the Students,” The
Nation, June 4, 2012, accessed February 22, 2016, http://www.thenation.com/article/23rd-anniversary-tiananmensquare-massacre-how-beethoven-rallied-students/.
38
Jindong Cai and Sheila Melvin, Beethoven in China: How the great composer became an icon in the People’s
Republic (Australia: Penguin Group, 2015), 116-117. Hereinafter this book will be referred to as Beethoven in China
in the footnotes. Thank you to Jindong Cai for his generosity in providing me with an advance copy of the book so
that I could use it in this paper.
39
Ibid, 114.
14 Emily Robinson was in 1922. China did not arbitrarily choose Beethoven to be a composer for the people of
China. Chinese conductor Jindong Cai points out in an interview that, “Chinese people believe
that to succeed you have to chi ku [literally “eat bitterness,” meaning endure hardship]. He
[Beethoven] fit the bill. He struggled all the time and then he succeeded.”40 The Heiligenstädter
Testament, mentioned previously, was not the only instance of hardship that Beethoven faced
during his lifetime. He also experienced financial difficulty, health problems, and struggles with
those he loved. Jindong explains, “The Chinese fell in love with [the] image of this person who
went through turmoil, obstacles, difficulties [who] at the end, was triumphant.”41 One can even
hear this in Beethoven’s compositions, especially the Fifth Symphony, which begins in c minor
and ends in C Major. This harmonic movement from major to minor has become one of the
hallmark victorious and triumphal harmonic trajectories. Beethoven was able to overcome his
difficulties and persevered through a hard life. For this reason the Chinese people have fallen in
love with his music. Symphony No. 9, arguably the best symphony ever composed by a composer
who demonstrated that anything could be overcome, found a place at Tiananmen Square because
of the victorious triumphal harmonic trajectory, the Chinese affinity for Beethoven, and the
themes of brotherhood, freedom, and creation found within the music.
The purpose that the music fulfilled within the larger cultural context is important in
understanding the reasons why Symphony No. 9 had the influence that it did over the protesters at
Tiananmen Square. Going back to a much earlier time in Chinese history, a person would learn
to play the lute or sing lyrical songs in order to “experience the internal resonance one shares
40
Ian Johnson, “Q. and A.: Jindong Cai on ‘Beethoven in China,’” The New York Times, November 22, 2015,
accessed February 22, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/world/asia/china-jindong-cai-beethoven-sheilamelvin.html?_r=0.
41
“Beethoven: An unlikely hero in China,” last modified November 29, 2015,
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/29/asia/china-beethoven/.
15 Emily Robinson with nature.”42 Nature in the Chinese cosmology is closer to meaning the cosmos or the order of
things, rather than the western notion of nature. The Ninth is a story of humanity, particularly a
story of creation, which has to do with nature because without the original creation there would
be no world. Yet, this symphony might also be about a creation that happens every day or a
creation of renewal. These creational themes are intrinsically tied to nature and therefore connect
on a deeper cultural level with the Chinese people.
In 1971, United States of America Secretary of State Henry Kissinger came to visit
China. Conductor of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra, Li Delun, had to explain all of
Beethoven’s symphonies to Premier Zhou because the Central Philharmonic had been ordered to
play music from Kissinger’s cultural heritage. Ironically, this discussion had to be kept secret
because Beethoven’s music was considered to be revolutionary.43 Even though Beethoven’s
music was considered revolutionary at the time, it signaled to the Western world that China was
ready to open its country to others. Historian Timothy Brook writes, “The revival of Beethoven
represented a new urge to recreate the common ground between Chinese and western musical
culture.”44 The musical culture may have been opened to the West again, but in doing so the
political ideas of the West began to influence Chinese citizens and the idea of freedom was
planted in their minds. Freedom generally conjures up images of having free choice or images of
not living under an oppressive regime. Whether political or philosophical, “freedom of any kind
must by definition be rooted in morality.”45 The political idea of freedom came from the West,
through Beethoven, into Chinese culture and has incited rebellions. One of these rebellions was
42
Wei-Ming Tu, “The Idea of the Human in Mencian Thought: An Approach to Chinese Aesthetics,” in Theories of
the Arts in China, ed. Susan Bush and Christian Murck (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983), 62.
43
Melvin and Cai, Rhapsody in Red, 266. Kissinger, United States Secretary of State at the time was of German
descent. Those who held political power in China decided that it would be appropriate for the Central Philharmonic
Orchestra (of which Li Delun was conductor) to play music by a German composer—Beethoven.
44
Cai and Melvin, Beethoven in China, 111.
45
Levy, Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony, 13.
16 Emily Robinson Tiananmen Square, where the Ninth Symphony was so appropriately performed as the students
wanted freedom from an oppressive regime.
However, the political lens that Beethoven was viewed through could alter the effect that
the symphony had on the protestors and the world. Considering the political history of China and
the country’s prior uses of Beethoven’s music, the main question becomes, is Beethoven’s music
capitalist or socialist? There is not an easy answer to this question because it all depends on the
context and the current political scene in China. When Mao Zedong was working toward
becoming Chairman of the Communist Party, he said, “In the world today all literature and art
belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing
as art for art’s sake, art that stands above classes or art that is detached from or independent of
politics.”46 This statement makes it necessary to place Beethoven in a political context because
the Communist Party thought that there could be no such thing as music without politics.47 Some
would argue that Beethoven was middle-class in character. This means his music would lean
more toward a capitalist interpretation of the Ninth, which is in direct contrast to the ideology
and foundation of Communist China. A short story entitled “Red Beans” illustrates the political
dilemma perfectly. A quote from this story says when “Qi Hong, the boy who adores Beethoven,
can never make her happy—only the Communist Party can do that. It is to revolution that Jiang
Mei will dedicate her life, not to bourgeois pleasures such as Beethoven.”48 The moral of the
story becomes that Jiang should dedicate her life to the revolution that would put the Communist
Party in power. Though it was widely understood that the Communist Party does not make
everyone happy, the boy, who adores Beethoven, could potentially be seen as the Western World
enticing Chinese people. Thus the story becomes more about the relations between China and the
46
Cai and Melvin, Beethoven in China, 59.
Ibid, 106.
48
Ibid, 62. 47
17 Emily Robinson outside world through the music of Beethoven than about the two children. This story
exemplifies why Beethoven’s music was viewed as being dangerous. It invites the Western
thought present in the themes of Beethoven’s music to pervade and clash with the long traditions
within Chinese culture. The questions that the music brings with it of democratic or socialist
thought are not nearly as important as its general association with Western thought.
Despite this official propaganda, Beethoven is still a significant figure in China, through
his music and his personal life. Part of this occurred during the transition to Communist China.
At the time Russia, under the control of Vladimir Lenin, “adopted” China and helped them to
transform into a Communist country. Eventually, Russia and China parted ways, but not before
Beethoven became involved. Lenin liked Beethoven immensely and since China looked up to
Lenin, they in turn looked to Beethoven as an important figure.49 This is how Beethoven
continued to be a main figure in China even after such a great shift in political ideology and
power.
But, in the mid-1980s, significantly closer to the events of 1989, a sociologist suggested
that China had adopted Beethoven as well as Mozart because “it [their music] represented the
best product of human civilization during that period.” The same sociologist continued by
saying, “Why cannot we accept other best products of human civilization during the same period,
that is democracy and human rights?”50 This is the question that the protest at Tiananmen Square
was asking of the Chinese government and of the Chinese people themselves. Analysts argue
that Tiananmen Square was the closest that the Chinese people had come to overthrowing the
Communist regime. The sense that China was opening up (as demonstrated in these protests as
well as other cultural events in China) was clearly insinuated in the performances of Beethoven’s
49
50
Ibid, 65.
Ibid, 116. 18 Emily Robinson works by the Central Philharmonic.51 By playing Beethoven there was a conscious awareness
that the music was “intended to modernize, that is, to throw off the shackles of China’s recent
past and to adapt his country not only to Western technology but also to an awareness of the
Western culture that had spawned it.”52 The importance of Beethoven in 1989 at this protest
cannot be underestimated when considering its relationship to the Western world and the ideas of
the West, particularly democracy and human rights. The Ninth “inspires audiences to the highest
lofty ideals of mankind, namely peace, unity and love to all the peoples of the world.53 These are
ideas along with brotherhood, creation, and freedom that the Chinese university students and
those who supported the Tiananmen protests hoped for and desired. They were able to express
that hope and desire through the music of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Beethoven will stick
with China through the ages because his music “is not pure entertainment—it is a philosophy of
what he saw about the world.”54
BERLIN, GERMANY 1989
In order to understand the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is necessary to know the history of
the Berlin Wall. There are two important discussions between the Allied Powers that eventually
led to the building of the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961. These discussions in 1945, The Yalta
Conference and The Potsdam Conference, concerned the governance of Germany and the war
reparations after the conclusion of World War II. The Yalta Conference occurred in a resort town
in the Crimea from February 4-11, 1945. The Allied Powers world leaders were present—British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and United States President
51
Ibid, 17.
Ibid, 97.
53
Ibid, 79.
54
“Beethoven: An unlikely hero in China.”
52
19 Emily Robinson Franklin D. Roosevelt. At this point in the war, the Allied Powers knew that they would defeat
the Axis Powers in Europe, but they were still unsure of how the conflicts in the Pacific would
be played out. This led to one of the main points of the conference, which was to figure out the
extent of Soviet involvement in the Pacific theater because the United States and Britain believed
that this aspect of World War II would last much longer. Another point of Yalta was to discuss
the futures of Eastern Europe, Germany, and the United Nations. One of the first decisions was
to include France in the postwar government of Germany and also grant them a permanent seat
on the Security Council of the United Nations. The other necessary question at the end of any
war is the question of war reparations. This issue was not completely resolved at Yalta, but it
was determined that Germany should pay some or all of the reparations. Countries bordering the
Soviet Union had to respect communism, but the Soviet Union also pledged to allow free
elections in territories emancipated from Nazi Germany.55 These decisions concluded The Yalta
Conference.
Following The Yalta Conference, The Potsdam Conference occurred from July 17 to
August 2, 1945. The Allied Powers—British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Leader
Joseph Stalin, and United States President Harry Truman—again met to discuss the end of World
War II. It was after the surrender of Germany, which occurred on May 8, 1945. Essentially this
conference continued the discussions that had begun in Yalta. The major talking point was how
to handle Germany after postwar. This led to the creation of a “demilitarized and disarmed
Germany under four zones of Allied occupation.”56 For the meantime, the Allied Control
Commission, made up of Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union was to be in
55
“The Yalta Conference, 1945,” United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian, accessed
April 28, 2016, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf.
56
“The Potsdam Conference, 1945,” United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian, accessed
April 28, 2016, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/potsdam-conf.
20 Emily Robinson control of Germany until a later (indefinite) date, when the national German government could
regain control. 57 The division of political power between the four Allied nations in Germany
would lead to the creation of the Berlin Wall.
Eventually the relationship between the four powers became strained and even hostile.
Six months later on November 10, 1958 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev called for Great
Britain, France, and the United States to pull their forces out of West Berlin. The Berlin Crises
began and climaxed with the building of the Berlin Wall on the night of August 12, 1961. Even
though there had been the agreement to unify the occupied zones, this was put aside as the Cold
War began and the city of Berlin became even more divided politically and economically. Berlin
was a unique city in this case because, while it was inside the boundaries of Eastern Europe, it
was controlled by Western powers. Already in 1948, the land access between West Germany and
West Berlin was cut off so that an airlift of supplies was necessary for one year before the land
access was reopened. As the United States Department of State, Office of the Historian article
about the Berlin Crises points out, “The divided city highlighted the sharp contrast between the
communist and capitalist systems, and the freedom of movement between the sectors had
resulted in a mass exodus from the eastern side.”58 In order to stop citizens of East Germany
from defecting to West Germany and in response to the increasing political pressures between
the Soviet Union and the United States, on August 13, 1961, Berlin discovered in the morning
that a barbed-wire fence had gone up between East and West Berlin on the orders of East
German leader Walter Ulbricht. Very soon this rudimentary separation of the city became a solid
and very visible concrete wall.59
57
Ibid.
“The Berlin Crisis, 1958-1961,” United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian, accessed
April 28, 2016, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/berlin-crises.
59
Ibid.
58
21 Emily Robinson Twenty-eight years later on November 9, 1989, the wall fell even though East German
officials did not plan it. The Berlin Wall fell down because of small reforms, which occurred
over time and the desire for freedom. Recently appointed as General Secretary of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail S. Gorbachev went around Soviet Eastern Europe instituting
small reforms. This put pressure on the East German government to also make changes to the
governmental laws, especially since the resistance movement within East Germany was growing.
The government decided to change some of their draconian travel laws but kept the power to
deny anyone travel on a whim. The announcement of these changes was terribly executed by
Günter Schabowski, who read the news release at an international news conference. Due to the
garbled nature of the news report, only certain phrases came sailing through such as the fact that
travel abroad would be “possible for every citizen,” beginning “right away, immediately.”
Journalists took every liberty with these phrases, making it seem that the wall had been opened.
Border guards tried to stand their ground but people were flooding the gates because they knew
the government would back down since resistance had grown considerably. In October there was
a protest in Leipzig, planning to overwhelm the security forces, “which we now know had
planned a Tiananmen-style crackdown.”60 The Leipzig protestors backed down. But on the Ninth
of November, German citizens did not plan to back down. Then border guard Harald Jäger made
a fateful decision. He opened his gate, beginning a chain reaction of opening the gates down the
wall. Sarotte says, “In short, the fall of the wall came about because of the complex interplay
among Soviet reforms, East Berlin’s incompetence and, crucially, rising opposition from
everyday Germans.”61
60
Mary Elise Sarotte, “How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Really Happened,” The New York Times, November 6, 2014,
accessed April 28, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/opinion/how-the-berlin-wall-really-fell.html?_r=0.
61
Ibid.
22 Emily Robinson It cannot be ignored that overwhelming this was seen as a movement toward freedom and
a “new beginning.”62 Contrary to popular American belief, Ronald Reagan’s famous 1987
speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate where he called for, “Soviet leaders to ‘tear down this
wall,’” did not greatly influence the demolishment of the Berlin Wall.63 Instead the demise of the
wall can be described as almost being an accident. The impromptu news broadcasts that night
told of the ringing of freedom bells, East and West Germans united, and the hope to make
socialism more democratic. One reporter asked, “Is this a dawning of a new age?”64 Berlin was
not reunited until almost a year later, but on the night of November 9 the feeling of brotherhood
surprisingly overwhelmed the city of Berlin, the hope for the creation of a new Germany, and the
sentiment of freedom.
On Christmas Day 1989, Leonard Bernstein, famed American composer and conductor
led a concert featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 to celebrate the opening of the Berlin Wall.
The concert was held at the Philharmonic concert hall in West Berlin to a sold-out audience, but
a dress rehearsal was held at the East Berlin Schauspielhaus on Saturday afternoon. The
musicians in the orchestra were from East and West Germany as well as the New York
Philharmonic, Kirov Orchestra, London Symphony, and Orchestre de Paris. These four other
orchestras represented the four Allied powers that still controlled Germany. The president of the
West German Parliament, Rita Suessmuth, made opening remarks, saying, “We’re celebrating in
Berlin, and we’re celebrating with good cause, but this issue is bigger than the German question.
It’s about freedom, peace and justice in the entire world.”65 The concert was so focused on
62
“The Berlin Wall Falls 1989 NBC Coverage Pt1,” YouTube video, 6:22, posted by “TooleMan87,” November 10,
2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK1MwhEDjHg. 63
Sarotte, “How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Really Happened.”
64
“The Berlin Wall Falls 1989 NBC Coverage Pt2,” YouTube video, 8:59, posted by “TooleMan87,” November 10,
2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-9_uQx6IsQ.
65
Stephanie Griffith, “Bernstein Brings ‘Ode to Freedom’ to Berlin: Music: The conductor celebrates recent historic
changes in the East Bloc by leading musicians from the East, West in Beethoven’s Ninth, with revised text,” Los
23 Emily Robinson freedom that Bernstein changed the word Freude to Freiheit, so that the “Ode to Joy” became an
“Ode to Freedom.”66 The entire concert was broadcast and so people who were not in Germany
could celebrate with the German citizens at this historic moment; making the brotherhood of this
event a worldwide brotherhood.67 The celebrations that ensued after the fall of the Wall
encompassed the themes of freedom, brotherhood, and creation, themes that are all present in
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which was expertly programmed and performed for Germany and
the world at this momentous occasion.
Imagine waking up one day and discovering that your neighbors and your family
members were now in a different country and could no longer travel to visit you. This is what
happened when the Berlin Wall was erected. It went through many incarnations, each time
becoming more fortified. However, when it fell in 1989, the event signaled to East and West
Berliners, East and West Germans, and the world that the creation of a unified Germany and
particularly a unified Berlin was not far off into the future. Symphony No. 9 echoed the tone of
creation through the opening measures of the work. The people in the audience that night had to
have resonated with the first three measures in the sense that out of nothing came something. To
some people, the first measure of the symphony is practically inaudible, but when the first motif
enters there is a continued feeling of growth, of creation within the music. As if the Ninth
Symphony had been composed after the events at Berlin, it mirrors the opening minute of the
work. Rich Lowry, of the National Review, describes this moment in the work as “shimmering to
life from nothingness at the beginning in what has been compared to the Creation story, then
Angeles Times, December 25, 1989, accessed April 28, 2016, http://articles.latimes.com/1989-1225/entertainment/ca-794_1_east-bloc.
66
“Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125.”
67
“The Berlin Celebration Concert- Beethoven, Symphony No 9 Bernstein 1989,” YouTube video, 1:33:51, posted
by “SuperGMajor7,” March 30, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IInG5nY_wrU. It is possible to watch a
recording of the concert and televised broadcast at this link.
24 Emily Robinson delivering crashing drama.”68 The fall of the Berlin Wall came as a surprise to much of the
world, not least to the citizens of Berlin. One day there was no possibility the Wall would fall.
The next day there was a creation of a permeable border between East and West Berlin. During
this event there were many allusions in newspaper headlines thanking God that the Wall had
been torn down. This same sense of God’s presence in connection to creation is present in
Symphony No. 9. Music critic Harold Schonberg explained this connection as, “’The music is not
pretty or even attractive. It is merely sublime.’ The Ode to Joy asks, ‘Do you sense the Creator,
World?’ It is the miracle of the Ninth that, at the height of its power it almost compels the
listener to answer ‘Yes!’”69 In Berlin and around the world in November and on Christmas Day
in 1989, there was a resounding yes to seeing a new creation unfold.
The sense of a renewed hope for a united Berlin filled the air after the fall of the Berlin
Wall. What better way to express the reuniting of brothers than through a symphony orchestra?
Understanding the history of the orchestra is important in being able to analyze its
representational role. As music author Nancy Groce notes, “There has in recent decades been a
noticeable international tendency for orchestras to aspire increasingly to the kinds of generally
rich, sophisticated and homogenous sounds of leading German orchestras such as the Berlin
Philharmonic.”70 In order to create this type of sound an orchestra must be able to blend well.
This demonstrates a sort of brotherhood among the instruments and therefore the musicians. This
brotherhood provides the ability for the Ninth Symphony to be performed in Berlin.
While it is necessary for an orchestra to be present in order for a concert of Symphony No.
9 to occur, the theme of brotherhood is also found within the notes of the composition. As
68
Rich Lowry, “The Anthem of Joy,” National Review, December 24, 2013, accessed February 22, 2016,
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/367011/anthem-joy-rich-lowry.
69
Ibid. 70
Nancy Groce, “Technical Development of Musical Instruments: Strings,” in The Orchestra: Origins and
Transformations, ed. Joan Peyser, (New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1986), 126.
25 Emily Robinson previously mentioned, the grand unison in measure seventeen is an excellent example of the
theme of brotherhood. Every instrument in the orchestra is playing at this moment together in
unison both melodically and rhythmically. Then in the finale the hymn-like setting of Schiller’s
“Ode to Joy” is another instance of brotherhood. This united the city of Berlin in its time of
celebration. There are many other moments within the symphony that speak to this theme,
making it the perfect symphony to play in Berlin in 1989.
The last theme to discuss in relation to Berlin is the theme that perhaps most prominently
unites the movements in Tiananmen Square and Berlin to each other as well as to Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 9. That is the theme of freedom. Freedom is shown through the motif first
introduced by the violins but then passed between the violins, violas, and basses until measure
seventeen and the entrance of the primary theme. There was a new sense of freedom in Germany,
especially for the East Berliners as they could now travel freely between East and West Berlin.
This is true also for West Berliners, who could now see their family and friends in East Berlin.
The ability to “freely” (it was still necessary to have some documentation) cross the border gave
the Berlin citizens the ability to fulfill their own desires by travel across entire neighborhoods
that were once suddenly split in half. The motif connects the symphony to this feeling of
freedom and makes it the most pertinent piece to be performed on Christmas Day 1989 by
Leonard Bernstein. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony provided Berlin, Germany with the ability to
express their feelings of a united brotherhood, a new creation, and a resounding sense of
freedom.
26 Emily Robinson CONCLUSION
It has been shown that the themes of brotherhood, creation, and freedom are all present
within the Ninth Symphony and that is why it was a natural choice to be performed in 1989 at
Tiananmen Square and Berlin. But what does this mean for the future of Symphony No. 9? Kerry
Candaele, director of Following the Ninth, discussed the theme of brotherhood within the Ninth,
saying, “All men will be brothers, not a specific race or group. That, of course, has an
international appeal, it crosses boundaries very easily, it connects with people over barriers of
culture, of language, of history.”71 As philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah argues in his book
Cosmopolitanism, conversations across cultures are becoming increasingly important. These
conversations could include themes of an international and global brotherhood, creation, and
freedom. One way to begin such a conversation is through the common experience of
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Though Benjamin Levy cautions, “It is unreasonable to expect
that a mere piece of music could have the power to bring redemption to a troubled world,” he
nevertheless concludes, “The Ninth Symphony probably has come as close to reaching this goal
as any work ever composed.”72 Listening or performing the Ninth Symphony may not be the
solution to every conflict or disagreement in the world, but it does provide a common ground to
discuss feelings of brotherhood, creation, and freedom, as demonstrated by the solidarity that it
gave the students in Tiananmen Square and its ability to express the joy of East and West
Berliners in 1989. When Beethoven composed this work in 1824, he may have been able to
recognize the uniqueness of the work since this was the first time a choir was called for in a
symphonic score. The uniqueness of the symphony continues today as the Ninth continues to be
preformed around the world, proclaiming its themes of brotherhood, creation, and freedom.
71
“’Following the Ninth’ director finds the power, wonder in Beethoven’s most famous work,” last modified
September 3, 2015, http://hub.jhu.edu/2015/09/03/following-ninth-condaele-director-qa.
72
Levy, Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony, 5.
27 Emily Robinson FIGURES
Figure 1 “Appeared on: 16th Dec 2011/This comic’s first appearance: 16th Dec 1964,” Peanuts by
Schulz, accessed April 2, 2016,
http://www.peanuts.com/search/?keyword=We%20haven%27t%20cut%20the%20cake%20yet&
type=comic_strips#.VypH2T-3PKB.
3 3 Figure 2 Measures 2-­‐5 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). 28 Emily Robinson Figure 3 Measures 2 and 3 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). Figure 4 Measure 11 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). Figure 5 Measure 13 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). 29 Emily Robinson Figure 6 Measures 11-­‐13 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). Figure 7 Measure 1 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). 30 Emily Robinson Figure 8 Measure 17 from Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, (Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824). 31 Emily Robinson Figure 9 Anup Kaphle, “Here’s how Tiananmen lives on, 25 years after the bloody crackdown,” The
Washington Post, June 3, 2014, accessed February 26, 2016,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/06/03/heres-how-tiananmen-lives-on-25years-after-the-bloody-crackdown/. Image painted by Liu Yi of the people and events he pictures when he thinks of Tiananmen Square. 32 APPENDIX A
An die Freude by
Frederich Schiller
Ode to Joy translated by
William F. Wertz
Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, den Heiligtum.
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt,
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Joy, thou beauteous godly lightning,
Daughter of Elysium,
Fire drunken we are ent’ring
Heavenly, thy holy home!
Thy enchantments bind together,
What did custom stern divide,
Every man becomes a brother,
Where thy gentle wings abide.
Seid umschlungen Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder - überm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Chorus.
Be embrac’d, ye millions yonder!
Take this kiss throughout the world!
Brothers—o’er the stars unfurl’d
Must reside a loving Father.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja - wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Who the noble prize achieveth,
Good friend of a friend to be;
Who a lovely wife attaineth,
Join us in his jubilee!
Yes—he too who but one being
On this earth can call his own!
He who ne’er was able, weeping
Stealeth from this league alone!
Was den großen Ring bewohnet
Huldige der Sympathe!
Zu den Sternen leitet sie,
Wo der Unbekannte thronet.
Chorus.
He who in the great ring dwelleth,
Homage pays to sympathy!
To the stars above leads she,
Where on high the Unknown reigneth.
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur,
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod,
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Joy is drunk by every being
From kind nature’s flowing breasts,
Every evil, every good thing
For her rosy footprint quests.
Gave she us both vines and kisses,
In the face of death a friend,
To the worm were given blisses
And the Cherubs God attend.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer Welt?
Such ihn überm Sternenzelt,
Chorus.
Fall before him, all ye millions?
Know’st thou the Creator, world?
Seek above the stars unfurl’d,
Emily Robinson Über Sternen muß er wohnen.
Yonder dwells He in the heavens.
Freude heißt die starke Feder
In der ewigen Natur.
Freude, Freude treibt die Räder
In der großen Weltenuhr.
Blumen lockt sie aus den Keimen,
Sonnen aus dem Firmament,
Sphären rollt sie aus den Räumen,
Die des Sehers Rohr nicht kennt.
Joy commands the hardy mainspring
Of the universe eterne.
Joy, oh joy the wheel is driving
Which the worlds’ great clock doth turn.
Flowers from the buds she coaxes,
Suns from out the hyaline,
Spheres she rotates through expanses,
Which the seer can’t divine.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Wandelt Brüder eure Bahn,
Freudig wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Chorus.
As the suns are flying, happy
Through the heaven’s glorious plane,
Travel, brothers, down your lane,
Joyful as in hero’s vict’ry.
Aus der Wahrheit Feuerspiegel
Lächelt sie den Forscher an.
Zu der Tugend steilem Hügel
Leitet sie des Dulders Bahn.
Auf des Glaubens Sonnenberge
Sieht man ihre Fahnen wehn,
Durch den Riß gesprengter Särge
Sie im Chor der Engel stehn.
From the truth’s own fiery mirror
On the searcher doth she smile.
Up the steep incline of honor
Guideth she the suff’rer’s mile.
High upon faith’s sunlit mountains
One can see herbanner flies,
Through the breach of open’d coffins
She in angel’s choir doth rise.
Duldet mutig Millionen!
Duldet für die beßre Welt!
Droben überm Sternenzelt
Wird ein großer Gott belohnen.
Chorus.
Suffer on courageous millions!
Suffer for a better world!
O’er the tent of stars unfurl’d
God rewards you from the heavens.
Göttern kann man nicht vergelten,
Schön ist ihnen gleich zu sein.
Gram und Armut solln sich melden,
Mit den Frohen sich erfreun.
Groll und Rache sein vergessen,
Unserm Todfeind sei verziehn,
Keine Träne soll ihn pressen,
Keine Reue nage ihn.
Gods can never be requited,
Beauteous ’tis, their like to be.
Grief and want shall be reported,
So to cheer with gaiety.
Hate and vengeance be forgotten,
Pardon’d be our mortal foe,
Not a teardrop shall him dampen,
No repentance bring him low.
Unser Schuldbuch sei vernichtet,
Ausgesöhnt die ganze Welt!
Brüder - überm Sternenzelt
Richtet Gott wie ihr gerichtet.
Chorus.
Let our book of debts be cancell’d!
Reconcile the total world!
Brothers—o’er the stars unfurl’d
God doth judge, as we have settl’d.
34 Emily Robinson Freude sprudelt in Pokalen,
In der Traube goldnem Blut
Trinken Sanftmut Kannibalen,
Die Verzweiflung Heldenmut.
Brüder fliegt von euren Sitzen,
Wenn der volle Römer kreist,
Laßt den Schaum zum Himmel spritzen:
Dieses Glas dem guten Geist!
Joy doth bubble from this rummer,
From the golden blood of grape
Cannibals imbibe good temper,
Weak of heart their courage take—
Brothers, fly up from thy places,
When the brimming cup doth
Let the foam shoot up in spaces:
To the goodly Soul this glass!
Den der Sterne Wirbel loben,
Den des Seraphs Hymne preist,
Dieses Glas dem guten Geist,
Überm Sternenzelt dort droben!
Chorus.
Whom the crown of stars doth honor,
Whom the hymns of Seraphs bless,
To the goodly Soul this glass
O’er the tent of stars up yonder!
Festen Mut in schweren Leiden,
Hilfe, wo die Unschuld weint,
Ewigkeit geschwornen Eiden,
Wahrheit gegen Freund und Feind,
Männerstolz vor Königsthronen,
Brüder, gält es Gut und Blut!
Dem Verdienste seine Kronen,
Untergang der Lügenbrut!
Courage firm in grievous trial,
Help, where innocence doth scream,
Oaths which sworn to are eternal,
Truth to friend and foe the same,
Manly pride ’fore kingly power—
Brothers, cost it life and blood,—
Honor to whom merits honor,
Ruin to the lying brood!
Schließt den heil'gen Zirkel dichter,
Schwört bei diesem goldnen Wein,
Dem Gelübde treu zu sein,
Schwört es bei dem Sternenrichter!
Chorus.
Closer draw the holy circle,
Swear it by this golden wine,
Faithful to the vow divine,
Swear it by the Judge celestial!
Rettung von Tyrannenketten,
Grossmut auch dem Boesewicht,
Hoffnung auf den Sterbebetten,
Gnade auf dem Hochgericht!
Auch die Toten sollen leben!
Brueder, trinkt und stimmet ein,
Allen Suendern soll vergeben,
Und die Hoelle nicht mehr sein.
Rescue from the tyrant’s fetters,
Mercy to the villain e’en,
Hope within the dying hours,
Pardon at the guillotine!
E’en the dead shall live in heaven!
Brothers, drink and all agree,
Every sin shall be forgiven,
Hell forever cease to be.
Eine heitre Abschiedsstunde!
Suessen Schlaf im Leichentuch!
Brueder--einen sanften Spruch
Aus des Totenrichters Mund.
Chorus.
A serene departing hour!
Pleasant sleep beneath the pall!
Brothers—gentle words for all
Doth the Judge of mortals utter
35 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., 2006.
“Appeared on: 16th Dec 2011/This comic’s first appearance: 16th Dec 1964.” Peanuts by Schulz.
Accessed on April 2, 2016.
http://www.peanuts.com/search/?keyword=We%20haven%27t%20cut%20the%20cake%
20yet&type=comic_strips#.VypH2T-3PKB.
“Archive: Chinese troops fire on protesters in Tiananmen Square-BBC News.” YouTube video,
3:34. Posted by “BBC News,” June 4, 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMKvxJ-Js3A.
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 9. Ehrfureht: Eigentham der Verleger, 1824.
Berlioz, Hector. A Critical Study of Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies. Translated by Edwin Evans
Sr. London: Wm. Reeves, 1913.
Jindong, Cai, and Shelia Melvin. Beethoven in China: How the great composer became an icon
in the People’s Republic. Australia: Penguin Group, 2015.
Carlson, Benjamin. “What Does Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Mean?.” The Atlantic, September
7, 2010. Accessed February 12, 2016.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/09/what-does-beethovens-ninthsymphony-mean/62556/.
CNN. “Beethoven: An unlikely hero in China.” Last modified November 29, 2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/29/asia/china-beethoven/.
“Eyewitness Account of Tiananmen Square Massacre: China Uncensored.” Posted by “China
Uncensored,” June 5, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YAYAUtdod8.
Griffith, Susan. “Bernstein Brings ‘Ode to Freedom’ to Berlin: Music: The conductor celebrates
recent historic changes in the East Bloc by leading musicians from the East, West in
Beethoven’s Ninth, with revised text.” Los Angeles Times, December 25, 1989. Accessed
April 28, 2016. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-12-25/entertainment/ca-794_1_east-bloc.
Groce, Nancy. “Technical Development of Musical Instruments: Strings.” In The Orchestra:
Origins and Transformations, ed. Joan Peyser, 122-136. New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1986.
Hepokoski, James and Warren Darcy. Elements of Sonata Theory. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2011.
Emily Robinson HUB. “’Following the Ninth’ director finds the power, wonder in Beethoven’s most famous
work.” Last modified September 3, 2015. http://hub.jhu.edu/2015/09/03/following-ninthcondaele-director-qa.
Johnson, Ian. “Q. and A.: Jindong Cai on ‘Beethoven in China.’” The New York Times,
November 22, 2015. Accessed April 4, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/world/asia/china-jindong-cai-beethoven-sheilamelvin.html?_r=0.
Kaphle, Anup. “Here’s how Tiananmen lives on, 25 years after the bloody crackdown.” The
Washington Post, June 3, 2014. Accessed February 26, 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/06/03/heres-how-tiananmenlives-on-25-years-after-the-bloody-crackdown/.
Kerman, Joseph and Alan Tyson. “Ludwig van Beethoven.” Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40026#S40026.
Levy, David Benjamin. Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony. New York: Schirmer Books, 1995.
Lowry, Rich. “The Anthem of Joy.” National Review, December 24, 2013. Accessed February
19, 2016. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/367011/anthem-joy-rich-lowry.
Melvin, Sheila and Jindong Cai. Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became
Chinese. New York: Algora Publishing, 2004.
Mitchell, Greg. “For 23rd Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre: How Beethoven Rallied
the Students.” The Nation, June 4, 2012. Accessed February 22, 2016.
http://www.thenation.com/article/23rd-anniversary-tiananmen-square-massacre-howbeethoven-rallied-students/.
National Public Radio Music. “Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125.” Last
modified June 16, 2006. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5487727.
National Public Radio. “The ‘Ode to Joy’ As A Call To Action.” Last modified January 14,
2014. http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/01/14/262481960/the-ode-tojoy-as-a-call-to-action.
New York University. “Ludwig Van Beethoven-Heiligenstädter Testament.” Accessed April 4,
2016. http://www.nyu.edu/classes/gilbert/classic/heiligenstadt.html.
Sarotte, Mary Elise. “How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Really Happened.” The New York Times,
November 6, 2014. Accessed April 28, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/opinion/how-the-berlin-wall-really-fell.html?_r=0.
Schiller Institute. “An die Freude/ Ode to Joy.” Accessed April 30, 2016. http://www.schillerinstitute.org/transl/schiller_poem/ode_to_joy.pdf
37 Emily Robinson “The Berlin Celebration Concert-Beethoven, Symphony No 9 Bernstein 1989.” YouTube video,
1:33:51. Posted by “SuperGMajor7,” March 30, 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IInG5nY_wrU.
“The Berlin Wall Falls 1989 NBC Coverage Pt1.” YouTube video, 6:22. Posted by
“TooleMan87,” November 10, 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK1MwhEDjHg.
“The Berlin Wall Falls 1989 NBC Coverage Pt2.” YouTube video, 8:59. Posted by
“TooleMan87,” November 10, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-9_uQx6IsQ.
“Tiananmen Square Protests 1989: Chinese Soldiers Open Fire on Civilians.” YouTube video,
4:48. Posted by “ABC News,” June 4, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9AvUuEPgvA.
Tu, Wei-Ming. “The Idea of the Human in Mencian Thought: An Approach to Chinese
Aesthetics.” In Theories of the Arts in China. Edited by Susan Bush and Christian Murek,
57-73. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983.
United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian. “Bretton Woods-GATT,
1941-1947.” Accessed April 28, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/19371945/bretton-woods.
United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian. “The Berlin Crisis, 19581961.” Accessed April 28, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/berlincrises.
United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian. “The Potsdam
Conference, 1945.” Accessed April 28, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/19371945/potsdam-conf.
United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian. “The Yalta Conference,
1945.” Accessed April 28, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yaltaconf.
United States of America Department of State Office of the Historian. “Tiananmen Square,
1989.” Accessed February 26, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/19891992/tiananmen-square.
“1989: Tiananmen Square.” YouTube video, 5:03. Posted by “CNN,” October 6, 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNEW1Uh0lz0.
38