Opening Night & Summer Gala: Orchestra of St. Luke’s – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony extends beyond the realm of the concert hall and permeates Western culture on multiple levels, including socio-political and commercial arenas. The music of the Ninth, particularly the “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement, is so familiar to us that it has lost its unique character and taken on the quality of folk music; that is, it has shed its “composed” identity as a melody written by Ludwig van Beethoven and simply exists within the communal ear of our collective consciousness. 

While some classical works are inextricably linked to the time in which they were written, Beethoven’s profound musical statements about freedom, equality, and humanity resonate just as powerfully today as they did at the Ninth’s premiere. This was evident to the entire world when Leonard Bernstein conducted an international assembly of instrumentalists and singers in a historic performance of Beethoven’s Ninth at East Berlin’s Schauspielhaus (now Konzerthaus) on December 22, 1989, three days after the fall of the Berlin Wall. To emphasize the historic event, Bernstein substituted the word “freedom” for “joy” in the famous lyrics by the poet Friedrich Schiller in the final movement. The performance was broadcast worldwide, attracting more than 200 million viewers.

By 1822, Beethoven was completely deaf and emotionally isolated. Five years earlier, at the age of 47, he had written in his journal, “Before my departure for the Elysian fields I must leave behind me what the Eternal Spirit has infused into my soul and bids me complete.” Alone and embittered, Beethoven focused almost exclusively on his musical legacy.

The lofty salute to the human spirit expressed in Schiller’s poem An die Freude (To Joy) had resonated with Beethoven for many years; in 1790 he set a few lines in a cantata written to commemorate the death of Emperor Leopold II; he also included portions of Schiller’s poem in his opera Fidelio. “The search for a way to express joy,” as Beethoven described it, was the subject of his final symphony. To that end, Beethoven edited and arranged Schiller’s lines to suit his musical and dramatic needs, using a melody from the Choral Fantasy he had written 20 years earlier.

The symphony opens with the strings sounding a series of hollow open chords, neither major nor minor, which are harmonically ambiguous – what key is this? The fifths build into a massive statement featuring a weighty dotted rhythmic theme. The intensity of this movement foreshadows the finale.

As was his wont, Beethoven broke with symphonic convention by writing a second-movement scherzo. The music explodes with dramatic string octaves and pounding timpani. The main theme, a contrapuntal fugue, gives way to a demure wind melody. Underneath its playful simplicity, the barely contained agitation of the scherzo pulses in the strings, like a racehorse pawing at the starting gate.

In a symphony synonymous with innovation, Beethoven’s most significant departure from convention is the inclusion, for the first time in any symphony, of a chorus and vocal soloists in what had been an exclusively instrumental genre. The cellos and basses play an instrumental recitative, later sung by the baritone, which is followed by the unaccompanied “Joy” melody. Beethoven then presents several instrumental variations, including a triumphal brass fanfare. The baritone soloist introduces Schiller’s poem with words of Beethoven’s: “O friends, not these tones; instead, let us strike up more pleasing and joyful ones.” The chorus repeats the last four lines of each stanza as a refrain, followed by the vocal quartet. A famous interlude, the Turkish March, follows (this music was considered “Turkish” because of the inclusion of the triangle, cymbals and bass drum, exotic additions to the orchestra of Beethoven’s time). After several variations, the chorus returns with a monumental concluding double fugue.

© Elizabeth Schwartz. All rights reserved.

The above notes are reprinted with permission from Oregon Symphony.

Elizabeth Schwartz is a musician and music historian based in Portland, OR. She has been a program annotator for more than 25 years, and provides notes to musicians, ensembles, and music festivals around the world. Schwartz has also contributed to NPR’s “Performance Today,” (now heard on American Public Media).

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Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) performs and produces in a variety of formats throughout New York City, including orchestral and chamber music series on each of Carnegie Hall’s iconic stages, programs focused on contemporary composers presented throughout the five boroughs, collaborations with Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center, a composition institute, and much more. Many of OSL’s performances are presented for free through its education and community engagement programs, reaching over 12,000 students and families annually with accessible, interactive student concerts, a thriving youth orchestra, and mentorship programs for emerging players. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center in midtown Manhattan — the city’s only rehearsal, recording, and performance space built specially for classical music — where it hosts thousands of musicians and audience members year-round.

For more information, please visit their website.

Rafael Payare’s innate musicianship, technical brilliance and charismatic energy on the podium has elevated him as one of the most sought-after conductors. The 2024-25 season marks Rafael Payare’s third season as Music Director of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and his fifth as Music Director of California’s San Diego Symphony.  

The Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 – 2019, he now holds the title of Conductor Laureate in recognition of his vast artistic contribution to the Orchestra and City of Belfast.  

With his gift for communication and irresistibly joyous spirit, Payare works with the world’s leading orchestras including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony, Munchner Philharmoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Berlin Staatskapelle, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Soloists with whom he has enjoyed collaborations include Daniil Trifonov, Frank Peter Zimmerman, Hilary Hahn, Alisa Weilerstein, Piotr Anderszewski, Emmanuel Ax, and Yefim Bronfman, among many others. Highlights of the current season include a major European tour with the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and return visits to the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to conduct Turandot.  

As an opera conductor, Payare has conducted titles at Glyndebourne Festival, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Staatsoper Berlin, Royal Stockholm Opera, and Royal Danish Opera. In 2012, he was invited by his mentor, the late Lorin Maazel, to conduct at his Castleton Festival in Virginia, where he was appointed Principal Conductor in 2015.  

An inspiration to young musicians, Payare has forged a close relationship with the Royal College of Music in London. He has also led projects with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Americas, and the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia.  

Born in 1980 and a graduate of the celebrated El Sistema in Venezuela, Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. He has conducted all the major El Sistema orchestras including the Simón Bolívar Orchestra. In May 2012, Payare was awarded first prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition. 

With a voice described as “radiant” by The New York Times and chosen as one of the Sphinx Organization’s 2025 Medal of Excellence honorees, Nicaraguan American soprano Gabriella Reyes is one of the most exciting and dynamic artists in music today. A former member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, Reyes returns to the Met in the 2024-25 season to perform the roles of Margarita Xirgu in a new production of Osvaldo Golijov’s first opera Ainadamar, and both Mimì and Musetta in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production of La bohème. She returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Musetta and will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Nashville Symphony. This season, Reyes also makes her eagerly awaited recital debut at Carnegie Hall with pianist Andrés Sarre for the series Nuestros sonidos: Celebrating Latin Culture in the US. 

The 2023-24 season saw Reyes return to the Metropolitan Opera to perform the roles of Rosalba in a new production of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas and Liù in Turandot. She also made her role debut as Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and revisited the role of Mimì in La bohème with the Atlanta Opera. Concert highlights included Musetta in La bohème with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Bravo Vail Festival; the world premiere of The Joyful Mysteries with the Houston Chamber Choir & Orchestra; and a return to the role of Marzelline in Fidelio with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, both in LA; and on tour in Europe with stops including at the Liceu in Barcelona, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the Barbican in London. 

Named a 2019 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist by the Metropolitan Opera, Reyes was also a recipient of a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation in 2018, and was also a grand finalist in the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory. 

American mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford has gained a reputation as an exciting and in-demand singer appearing with many of the finest orchestras and opera house in the US and Europe. This season she returns to The Metropolitan Opera for Die Zauberflöte and the new production of Salome, the Dallas Symphony for continued performances of Erda in The Ring Cycle, and to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also makes appearances with the Houston Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. 

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Mumford has appeared in over 200 performances with the company including productions of Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin, Anna Bolena, Rigoletto, Cavalleria Rusticana, Nixon in China, and both Die Zauberflöte, and The Magic Flute. Other recent opera engagements have included the premiere of The Thirteenth Child at the Santa Fe Opera, Tancredi with Teatro Nuovo, Henze’s Phaedra, The Rape of Lucretia, and the world premiere of Daniel Schnyder’s Yardbird at Opera Philadelphia; and L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival and the BBC Proms. 

Also an active concert performer and recitalist, Mumford appeared with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in multiple US and European tours. Other concert engagements have included appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Netherland Radio Philharmonic, and at the Hollywood Bowl and the Ravinia and Tanglewood festivals. Her recordings include Handel’s Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (Momon Tabernacle Choir), Beethoven’s Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (Avie), and both Mahler Symphony No 8 and John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon). 

Praised for his effortless, expansive sound, and excellent technique, Russian-American tenor Viktor Antipenko has become a singer to watch in the dramatic repertoire. In the 2024-25 season, he makes his role and house debut singing Canio in I Pagliacci at Staatsoper Hannover before returning to Theater Dortmund to revive his portrayal of Siegmund in Die Walküre. Last season, he made debuts at the Sydney Opera House singing Luigi in Il Tabarro with Opera Australia; Pacific Opera Victoria performing Siegmund in Die Walküre; and Atlanta Opera, where he reprised his signature role of Siegmund. He also returned to the New National Theatre Tokyo of Japan to perform Lensky in Eugene Onegin. Antipenko was added to the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he covered the role of Radames in Aida. In concert, he joined conductor Franz Krager for performances of Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with Moores School Symphony Orchestra, and he made his San Diego Symphony debut performing Siegmund in an Act 1 concert of Die Walküre with Music Director Rafael Payare. 

In previous seasons, Antipenko made house debuts at Scottish Opera for performances as Luigi in Il Tabarro; and Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut as Don José in Carmen. Antipenko returned to Staatstheater Kassel for Hermann in Pique Dame and Israeli Opera for his role debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pinkerton in the famous Anthony Minghella production of Madama Butterfly. Antipenko also made his role and house debut performing Radamès in Aida at the Israeli Opera and debuted at Arizona Opera as Don José in Carmen. Additional highlights include singing Prince Guidon in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel at Dallas Opera; the title role in Samson et Dalila at Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck; Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Theater Chemnitz; Gabriele Adorno in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with Tiroler Landestheater; Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre for Theater Chemnitz; and Don José in Carmen for a semi-staged concert version at Lotte Concert Hall in South Korea. 

Antipenko has sung many additional roles at the Bolshoi Theatre, Ópera de Oviedo, Opéra de Rouen, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Opéra de Lyon, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, and Hawaii Opera Theater.  Antipenko has worked with esteemed conductors Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Jurowski, Yuri Bashmet, John Neschling, Yuri Temirkanov, as well as with stage directors Peter Konwitschny and Tomer Zvulun. 

Joseph Parrish was born in Baltimore and has already performed at renowned concert halls such as Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. This season, Parrish can be seen at the Rose Theatre in Jazz at Lincoln Center for Davenport Richards/Cote’s New York Premiere of Blind Injustice and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.  

Highlights of the 2023-24 season included concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the Usedom Music Festival, and Carnegie Hall Citywide Concerts. In June 2024 Parrish made his debut as Masetto (Don Giovanni) with the Cincinnati Opera and in July, he made his debut as Potapitsch (The Gambler) with the Salzburg Festival.  

Parrish graduated with an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies from The Juilliard School, where he was a Gluck Community Service Fellow, Music Advancement Program Fellow, and Morse Teaching Artist. He is an advocate for diversity in the field of classical music, being a member of the inaugural cohort of Shared Voices, an initiative with the Denyce Graves Foundation, charged with promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within the field of classical music. He also partners with Voices for Bolivia, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished elderly in Bolivia.