I'm listening to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. You might not know it, but if you've seen Die Hard or in fact, pretty much anything with Germans in it, you'll have probably heard one of its most famous sections, the Ode to Joy.
It's good. I tell you what as well, if you have heard any of Beethoven's Ninth, you've heard more of it than Beethoven ever did; he was completely deaf when he wrote it. In fact, in 1824 when he premiered the piece, he had to be turned around to see the audience applauding, having conducted what must have been to him, a silent orchestra.
It's this overcoming of adversity that I like. When you listen to this symphony in all its delicate and magnificent movements, it's incredible to think that this is a masterpiece painted in the dark.
Thirteen years earlier, aged 41, Beethoven had attempted to perform his own 5th Piano Concerto and was unable to, presumably with the deleterious effect on his hearing at the time. I guess in today's world, the media would have lampooned such a failure and his career could easily have floundered.
You can't keep a genius down though. The Ninth Symphony is a spectacular achievement of composition and form, and is sometimes hailed as Beethoven's greatest work.
I really like it. It shows what you can do in the face of adversity, if you have passion to do it. I'm the kind of person who sometimes sees the obstacles and difficulties around me with a heavy heart, analysing and separating the impossible from the possible.
Have a listen to Beethoven's Ninth sometime. Think of Beethoven standing in silence as the hall is filled with majesty and soaring voices, gloriously rising and falling with each fluid motion of the baton in his hand. Think of the standing ovation that must have greeted his teary eyes as he turned to face the audience that night in 1824. Think of it, and you can do it. Nothing is impossible.
Nothing.
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