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articles / Beethoven

A Deep Dive into Beethoven's Beloved Symphony No. 9

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

BeethovenMusic HistoryMusicologyPop Culture

What makes our favorite pieces of classical music our favorites? Why does Beethoven's 9th symphony almost always top our annual list of listener favorites? What does this music have to say to us today, more than 200 years after it was first performed? We explore the answers to these and many other questions in this deep dive into Beethoven's beloved Symphony No. 9.

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Why We Love It: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
00:00
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BeethovenMusic HistoryMusicologyPop Culture
Written by:
Brian is the KUSC host who gets listeners home in LA traffic each afternoon. He also created the At Home series during the earliest stages of the pandemic, and hosts the LA Phil radio broadcasts and A Joyful Noise Sunday mornings on KUSC and KDFC. Brian is a popular pre-concert lecturer in Southern California — between the LA Phil, LA Opera, The Wallis, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and beyond. He has received multiple LA Press Club awards for arts journalism, and is a passionate advocate for underrepresented & marginalized groups and individuals within classical music.
Brian Lauritzen
Published on 12.16.2025

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