Exactly two hundred years ago, on May 7, 1824, one of the crowning achievements in all of music was heard for the very first time: Beethoven’s Ninth! Epic in scale and character, Beethoven's final symphony is one of the earliest and still best-known examples of the use of human voices in a symphony. The premiere was a roaring success and an incredible triumph for the ailing Beethoven, who was by that time nearly completely deaf, but nonetheless present in the hall to enjoy his creation's success.
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