Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with its powerful expressivity and explosive finale, is regarded by many as the greatest symphony ever written.
On Feb. 23 and Feb. 25, the Pomona College Orchestra and Pomona College Choir performed their rendition of the celebrated choral symphony at the Bridges Hall of Music on the 200th anniversary of its premiere.
The choir, directed by Donna Di Grazia, was accompanied by guest vocal soloists Julie Adams, Kelly Guerra, Rodell Rosel and Nmon Ford. The performance was conducted by Eric Lindholm, the orchestra director and professor of music.
The concert sold out within 24 hours, with hopeful attendees waiting in line outside for the chance to fill the seats of any no-shows.
The piece, which runs 70 minutes in length, was Beethoven’s final symphony and conveys the journey of mining joy from life’s struggles. The fourth and final movement is widely recognized around the globe as “Ode to Joy.”
Lindholm and Di Grazia reflected on the symphony’s immense scale as well as the intricate logistics of setting up the performance at the Bridges Hall of Music, colloquially known as Little Bridges.
“The symphony is the last grand public statement by a brilliant yet troubled composer who spent his life trying to communicate with people through music,” Lindholm and DiGrazia said via a joint email. “We [had] about 170 people on stage, and Little Bridges, as wonderful as it is, is not designed for that. We’ve extended the stage by 16 feet into the hall.”
Lindholm and Di Grazia attributed the high attendance to sustained promotion since November as well as excitement from friends and family of the performers.
“The students in the ensembles recognize that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Lindholm and DiGrazia said in the email. “Many of them have family and friends who are eager to be in ‘the room where it happens,’ to quote Hamilton.”
The orchestra began the first movement with a propulsive melody akin to a march. This was followed by alternating sections of fast, urgent melodies and ones that built up to a resounding crescendo. The second movement was a typical Beethoven-style scherzo, with a swift A-section interrupted by a graceful and tranquil trio section. The third movement was lyrical, magnificent and slow, with an initial theme that evolved into increasingly elaborate variations leading into the final movement.
Lindholm and Di Grazia reflected on the final movement as a culmination of the emotions developed throughout the progression of the piece.
“The symphony has some very distinctive moments, like the first statement of the ‘Ode to Joy’ melody in the cellos and basses, or the solo baritone’s first entrance,” they said in the email. “But what makes those spots in the finale so effective is that they are encountered in the context of the piece’s full emotional journey, starting with the mystery and suspense of the very first measure.”
The final movement started by quoting the previous three movements. After this section, there was a pause, followed by a theme, which was played initially by a monophonic line of cellos and basses and then by the rest of the orchestra in layered variations. The choir joined several minutes later, belting the famous “Ode to Joy” melody with lyrics based on the poem “An die Freude” by Friedrich Schiller. The blend of the sung melody and the orchestra’s thematic variations was transcendent.
Serena Li PO ’26, a violinist in the orchestra, enjoyed playing the symphony in its entirety.
“The fourth movement … you hear it all the time, but you never really hear it in its full glory,” Li said. “It’s really nice that in college, we still get to keep [music] as part of our lives because a lot of [the] time, we get too busy to pursue our hobbies.”
Many audible gasps emerged from the audience when the choir rose from their seats in unison and joined the orchestra. The power of the music held their attention for over an hour, but this moment particularly shined. It created an outstanding, vivacious cry to the heavens that communicated unrestrained joy.
“It’s just powerful being able to do it with so many people together at once … It was fun to look at people’s reactions,” choir member Aaron Wu PO ’25 said.
Violinist Aria Wang PO ’27 was pleasantly surprised with the attendance turnout.
“Beethoven’s [Ninth] is incredibly difficult to get together,” Wang said. “I am very astonished by the rate at which we prepared it. This was the first full house I’ve seen for a concert and I never expected it to reach such attention.”
For Ella Tzeng PO ’27, a member of the choir, the familiarity of the fourth movement and the timelessness of the piece alleviated some initial trepidation.
“I just jumped in … It was a lot of fun; it was very worth it,” said Tzeng. “I was very stressed out because I was like, oh my god, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony … and then I started looking at it and said, wait this is just ‘Ode to Joy’ … It was simpler than I expected, which was very nice.”
Attendee Jay Cordes, a parent of a chorister, particularly enjoyed the acoustic experience of hearing the performance from the balcony.
“I had these amazing seats right above the orchestra and it was definitely a new experience to be able to hear the music around me,” Cordes said.
Audience members overwhelmingly found the final movement to be the most outstanding section.
“I was really surprised by the [baritone] solo … it was outstanding,”attendee Oscar Scholin PO ’24 said. “The final movement was just gold.”