Beethoven Composed The 9th Symphony When He Was Deaf
So maybe I can write even with my health challenges
My husband likes to flake out in front of the television and watch programmes about classical music on YouTube. A few weeks ago, having just done my Buddhist chanting in another room, I floated through into the living room where he was watching a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
I love the last movement, the choral Ode to Joy. I couldn’t help but plonk myself down on the sofa and share the experience with him. As we sat there, marvelling at the music, I was even more in awe when I remembered that Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed this masterpiece.
At the end of the first performance, as Beethoven sat in the front row facing the orchestra, he was unaware of the cheering audience giving him a standing ovation. One of his friends had to physically turn him around so that he could see this thunderous reaction.
This symphony blew the minds of his contemporaries. Nothing like this had ever been done before. To this day, the 9th symphony is played as a universal symbol of peace and the coming together of humanity. It was performed at the Brandenburg gate days after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and also replaced the usual Last Night of the Proms programme in 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Where there is a desire for peace, you will find the Ode to Joy.
Beethoven’s deafness drove him to the point of suicide. However, the thought of what he still had to say musically pulled him back to life. Despite not being able to hear a thing, and having his career as a concert pianist and conductor disappear as a result of this, he was still able to write the music that he heard within his body and soul.
If he could do that, then surely I can keep writing what is in my body and soul, even though there have been numerous recent health challenges that have severely slowed down my progress.
Why am I telling you this?
We write because we have something in our hearts that we want to say.
The circumstances for engaging in this task are rarely ideal.
You might be extremely busy in your day job, you might have most of your spare time taken up with family responsibilities or you might be on your own difficult health adventure.
Or all of those things!
But, if possible, please find a way to get what is in your heart out into words on paper, on your computer screen, in your book or in your newsletter.
It doesn’t matter how frequently you do this.
It doesn’t matter if you achieve all of your writing goals.
It doesn’t matter if you have to do other work to pay your way in the world.
But it does matter that you find a way to speak your truth. However slowly, interrupted or challenging this may be.
And if you can’t speak in your preferred medium, find another that you can do.
All of the pain, challenge and darkness that you face adds depth and authenticity to those words. You need to say them and someone else might need to read or experience them.
Do your best, when and how you can.
Plodding gently
Cali x
P.S. I wrote about Beethoven, his deafness and my own health back in August 2020. To learn more about what he went through, check out this article: How Beethoven Taught Me To Accept My Health Challenges
P.P.S. If you want to listen to the last movement of the symphony, with the choral Ode to Joy section, this rousing performance is by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim. The orchestra is made up of young Israeli and Palestinian musicians.
It is worth reading the comments underneath the video within YouTube to get a feel of the affect that this music can have.
Thank you for this reminder. Sending you lots of love.
Glad to have you back - and hope your health continues to improve.