It was on this day about 250 years ago that a rebeller, reformer, and a genuis in the history of music, Ludwig van Beethoven came into the world. During the whole year 2020 the world (including us, CLASSIC@HOME musical platform) has been celebrating the anniversary of the great composer by playing and broadcasting his music. Beethoven was born into the epoch of bourgeouis revolutions – and his artistic work, in its turn, revolutionized the music as a whole. Beethoven´s compositions prepared the ground to the musical Romanticism and further on, to the expressive variety of musical styles of the 20th century.

The musical platform CLASSIC@HOME invites all the music lovers to celebrate Beethoven's birthday together. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the great composer we proudly present you an extraordinary version of his Ninth symphony: it is a version for two pianos written by Franz Liszt and complemented by timpani, thanks to which the piece gets an outstanding tonal range and expressivity. Olha Chipak and Oleksiy Kushnir´s piano duo (both musicians give concerts and teach at the Rostock University of Music and Theater) made a bold experiment and offered collaboration to percussionist Francisco Manuel Anguas Rodriguez. The three created a truly unique variant of the Ninth. The symphony culminates in the famous Ode to Joy with a text written by Friedrich Schiller, which is also used as an anthem of the European Union: a keen appeal for freedom and peace between all peoples. Today we are playing Ode to Joy again in honour of one of the world´s greatest composers ever lived – to his birthday:

Joy, bright spark of divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
Fire-inspired we tread
Within thy sanctuary.
Thy magic power re-unites
All that custom has divided,
All men become brothers,
Under the sway of thy gentle wings.

The concert broadcasting is provided with a kindly support and permission of the Rostock university of music and theatre.