The Foote Files: Symphony No. 9 In D Minor By Ludwig Van Beethoven

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, by Ludwig Van Beethoven is a familiar theme to classical music fans that was used in the close of a daily network newscast in the 1950s and 1960s.

Beethoven wrote this work between 1822-1824 at a time when he lost the bulk of his hearing. It also was the first time a composer had incorporated a choral portion, in this case, in the Fourth Movement. Today, we feature the Second Movement which NBC News used a portion of it as the closing theme of their weekday network evening news, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, which aired from 1956-1970.

The symphony was composed for woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings, and voice (Fourth Movement only). It runs about 70 minutes in full, but the 2nd movement is around 14 minutes.

This is truly one of the most outstanding symphonies ever composed! I hope you enjoy this!