Beethoven's Ninth from Two Hong Kong Secondary Schools: A Review

A Review of

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, Fourth Movement
Karen Ka, soprano; Erica Lowe, alto; Dennis Lau, tenor; Frankie Fung, bass
Choirs and Orchestras of the Belilios Public School and Wah Yan College, Kowloon
conducted by Woo Zun Hin
Choral coaches: Lillian Mak, Lesley Ka-Hei Chan

May 14, 2011



No other piece in the history of Western classical music has been subject to as much political interpretation as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's employment of choral forces singing Schiller's "An die Freude" ("Ode to Joy") in the finale makes it possible to argue how this symphony may explicitly represent different symbols, ideals, or ideologies. Even back in the 19th century, Edgar Quinet described the Ninth as the "Marseillaise of humanity." During the First World War a French novelist asserted how the Ode should be a hymn of the Allies, and how it belongs to the world except the "criminal Germany." Then, to celebrate the reunification of Germany in 1990, the Ninth was performed under the baton of Bernstein who took the liberty to substitute "Freiheit" (freedom) for "Freude" throughout Schiller's text. In China, during the Cultural Revolution the Ninth was a source of bourgeois corruption according to some, but compatible with principles of class struggle according to others.

These interpretations have surely influenced how musicians perform and think of this work. The Ninth is certainly complex enough musically to allow different readings for rendering different potentially extra-musical ideas. It is difficult, for instance, not to believe (or imagine) that Furtwaengler was trying to portray something horrifying in his infamous 1942 performance of the Ninth in Berlin. We are so used to the notion that performing the Ninth amounts to making a statement on the human condition that, we sometimes forget there can be other simpler, more innocent perspectives on this symphony that are equally legitimate.

It is thus especially refreshing to hear the version of the "Ode to Joy" reviewed here, performed by the Choirs and Orchestras of Belilios Public School (BPS) and Wah Yan College, Kowloon (WYK), who offered an unpretentious and direct reading of this great symphonic finale on May 14, 2011 for the WYK annual concert. I feel that these young musicians from the two secondary schools in Hong Kong and their conductor, Mr. Woo Zun Hin, conceived this movement as an enthusiastic expression of happiness and a joyful celebration of friendship. There was no exaggerated phrasing and dynamic contrast, no lengthened fermata, no extreme accent, no excessive ritardando over important cadences. The music did seem to flow naturally from these students who, for most of the movement, did not appear to be trying too hard to enunciate something beyond their grasp. The genuine feeling of these energetic players makes watching this performance a uniquely moving experience.

It is evident in the clip that the students have worked very hard with their conductor on this concert. Overall the students' playing and singing did live up to the technical challenges demanded by the work. Despite some technical shortcomings, their command of their instruments and voice seemed sufficient for expressing their musical intentions. For instance, the opening instrumental recitatives and the several orchestral statements of the "Joy" theme were musically rendered, technical imperfections notwithstanding. The ensemble nearly (but fortunately did not) fall apart at several difficult spots, but these only made the performance more exciting to follow. For a secondary-school ensemble, intonation, tone quality and diction were outstanding. At several spots there could be a more nuanced calculation of the balance between the strings, winds, and the soloists, but this did not distract me from following their musical argument.

The BPS/WYK Orchestras and Choirs are commended for their effort, and more so for their courage of even attempting Beethoven's Ninth, one of the most sublime musical works ever created. I congratulate Mr. Woo, the soloists, the students and their coaches for their achievement, and wish that this experience of theirs will continue to inspire them to strive for an even higher level of musical understanding.