A video of 19 musicians from the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra has gone viral after performing Ludwig van Beethoven’s ninth symphony ‘Ode to Joy’ from their homes, as the coronavirus pandemic continues ravaging the globe.
The artists played and recorded their parts each individually from home and then the audio tracks were mixed together along with archival recording of the final choir segment, according to Euro News.
The video of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2018, has been viewed over 2.2 million times on Twitter, with thousands of retweets.
This is an awful time for us Europeans, for all the world.
— Daniel Keohane (@KeohaneDan) March 29, 2020
But do take the time to enjoy the Rotterdam Philharmonic play “Ode to Joy” in isolation - playing together in perfect harmony even though they are physically apart:
pic.twitter.com/kHb3DjHUkQ
“Absolutely Beautiful! Ode to Joy has been my Beethoven favorite since 1983 when it was on my travel alarm & I was lucky enough to go on a student bus tour through Europe for 16 weeks! Thank you all so much! Red heartTwo hearts Magnificent,” one of the Twitterians wrote.
Absolutely Beautiful! Ode to Joy has been my Beethoven favorite since 1983 when it was on my travel alarm & I was lucky enough to go on a student bus tour through Europe for 16 weeks! Thank you all so much! ❤️💕 Magnificent https://t.co/ikDmK7o7JB
— Sally Allen (@allensj18) March 29, 2020
‘Ode to Joy’ was written by the German composer and pianist in 1820 and was first performed in 1824 in Austria. Beethoven’s final complete symphony, representing the final victory of humanity over war and desperation, is based on a 1785 poem by German poet Friedrich Schiller.
