Beethoven and Bucket Lists

Beethoven's 9th Symphony is the one piece of music I want with me in heaven.....  It’s that big.

Rumor has it that, when the compact disc (CD) was developed for commercial use, its 74-minute recording capacity was established so as to be able to hold a performance of this bigger-than-life masterpiece… specifically the Berlin Philharmonic’s recording under the direction of Herbert von Karajuan.  With this in mind, it’s not much of an exaggeration to suggest that, both technologically and artistically, "The 9th" is the measure of all other music….  It’s that big.

I own no less than four different recorded interpretations of this music, two on CD and two on vinyl, from the neo-traditional (Roger Norrington) to modern expressionist (George Solti).  I love sitting in the dark and listening to each of these recordings, letting the music take me to places where only my spirit can see.  And, I've listened for years, dreaming that one day I would have the opportunity to hear and see this music performed live…. You could say that this has been on my “Bucket List.”  So, when I saw the announcement that the Oregon Symphony and Chorale were joining forces to amass the 200+ musicians and vocalists  necessary to perform Beethoven's 9th, there was no doubt in mind but that my wife Rita and I needed to be there….  and then we were.

In the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – a space almost as majestic as the music we were about to hear – two among 2,698 other celebrants, waiting to be enveloped in an oration of sounds that would crescendo with an “Ode to Joy” itself…..  and I was not disappointed.  When the music began I was immediately transported, drawn deeper and deeper into that space where spirits have visions, led through movements of both pastoral calm and wild passion until arriving at the fourth movement, where I found myself holding tightly to my wife’s hand and, with tears rolling down cheeks, hearing the words in German but comprehending them in English, a celebration of the bonds of friendship that we humans were made to share:

Whoever has created

An abiding friendship,

Or has won

A true and loving wife,

All who can call at least one soul theirs,

Join in our song of praise.

It was then that I realized I had no intention of crossing this off my Bucket List.  Instead, I intend to experience it again, and again…..  It’s that big.