Beethoven 9th facts

While investigating facts about Beethoven 9th, I found out little known, but curios details like:

Beethoven's 9th Symphony is traditionally performed in Japan at the end of the year, which was introduced in WWI by German prisoners. In December 2009, for example, there were 55 performances of the symphony throughout Japan

The developers of the compact disc (CD) chose its playing time to ensure that Beethoven's 9th symphony (70 minutes) could be played on a single disc.

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 17 of the best facts about Beethoven 9th I managed to collect.

1. When co-inventing the CD, Sony and Phillips agreed the length should be 74 minutes as to fit Beethoven's 9th Symphony

2. The standard diameter of a CD is 12cm because it must hold all of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

3. CDs are 74 minutes long because Sony's Norio Ohga wanted the new medium to hold Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

4. In response to criticism for not following "standard form" in his compositions, Beethoven composed the second scherzo movement of his 9th symphony in "standard" triple time, but punctuated it so it sounded like it was in quadruple time.

5. By the time Beethoven wrote his 9th and final symphony (age 53) he was so deaf he couldn't tell if people were applauding

6. Audio CDs are 74 minutes long because that is the length of the longest recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony

7. By the time Beethoven wrote his 9th symphony, his most iconic, he was already completely deaf

8. Kurt Masur, who conducted Beethoven's 9th at the celebration of the German reunification in 1990, also intervened in anti-government demonstrations in communist East Germany, negotiating an end to a confrontation that could have resulted in security forces attacking the protesters.

9. The capacity of the CDs was initially set to contain the whole London Philarmonic Orchestra's performance of the 9th symphony of Beethoven.

10. In December 1989, to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, Leonard Bernstein and an international orchestra & chorus performed in Berlin a version of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, in which Freude (Joy) was changed to Freiheit (Freedom).

What is true about beethoven 9th?

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The 74-minute standard on a CD was chosen because it was long enough for a full performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony

Beethovens 9th (Ode to the Joy) is synonymous with december and thus Christmas in Japan - source

When Philips and Sony developed the compact disc format in the late 1970s, they specifically set its maximum length at 74 minutes to ensure that a single disc could hold all of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. - source

CD capacity was specifically determined to hold the length of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

The length of the CD was set to allow it to hold the entire Beethoven's 9th symphony, the favorite piece of music of Sony president Norio Ohga (& more from David Byrne's awesome book) - source