In my weekly feature: not Ludwig's greatest, but one of his most wonderful, the Choral Fantasy, which is part piano sonata, part concerto, and with choral finish--with tune that was precursor to the "Ode to Joy," no less. Here done by Helene Grimaud who I saw do it a few weeks back when she returned to tiny village in Westchester County, N.Y., near where she long ago founded a famous wolf sanctuary. My book on Beethoven.
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Not only does the opening theme of the Fantasia resemble the choral "Ode to Joy" theme of the Ninth Symphony of course, but the choral writing from 16:40 to the conclusion of the video greatly foreshadows the "Und der Cherub steht vor Gott" line from the "Ode to Joy". LvB introduces the theme of the final movement with the theme played by the double basses; the first orchestral instruments one hears in the Fantasia are also double basses.
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