Cast
Program notes
Experience the "Beethoven cycle of the 21st century"! The ambitious project Beethoven 9, headed up by Christian Thielemann, is a historical milestone centered around his recordings of Beethoven's nine symphonies with the celebrated Wiener Philharmoniker.
Recordings at the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein form the centerpiece of nine documentaries, each an hour long, in which Christian Thielemann and the eminent German musicologist Professor Joachim Kaiser explore each of Beethoven's nine symphonies in formidable detail. Here you will find conversations between Thielemann and Kaiser, illustrated using extended excerpts from concert performances of the symphonies by Thielemann and the Wiener Philharmoniker, and unique archival footage highlighting interpretations by the true musical geniuses of the last century, including Herbert Von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Karl Böhm, Paavo Järvi and many others. Nothing is forgotten in this masterpiece of documentary filmmaking!