Christopher Morley reflects on how Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiere was a slap in the face for London.

The story of the triumphant premiere in Vienna of Beethoven’s Symphony no.9 on May 7, 1824, is well known, with a tremendous ovation for the composer at the end of the performance.

But, almost totally deaf, he couldn’t hear it, and continued beating time to the performers, his back to the audience.

It was only when the contralto soloist Caroline Unger turned him round to face the cheering, handkerchief-waving audience that he could see what a success he had achieved.

Yet that triumph should not have taken place in Vienna at all, but in London, for the symphony was composed in response to a £50.00 commission (a conspicuously tidy sum in those days) from the Philharmonic Society, the work to be delivered to them in March 1823 and to remain their exclusive property for 18 months, at the end of which time the rights would revert to the composer.

Several attempts had been made over the years to persuade Beethoven to travel to England, all of which came to nothing.

In fact Beethoven never toured anywhere, though he was certainly tempted to make the long journey to England, given the huge success both in terms of finance and celebrity Haydn had achieved in his two visits to this country during the first half of the 1790s.

By the early 1820s Ferdinand Ries, a pupil and friend of Beethoven’s had settled in London, and with a shrewd eye on the main chance the composer wrote to him on April 6, 1822, asking how much the Philharmonic Society were likely to offer him for a symphony.

Ries conveyed this message to the Society, they passed a resolution in November offering Beethoven the commission, Ries communicated the news to his mentor, who accepted on December 20.

The money was immediately despatched, and during the early part of 1823 Beethoven was writing to Ries that the symphony would soon be completed, and delivered to London in the safe hands of an acquaintance who was travelling there.

Beethoven broke his promise, dedicated his Ninth Symphony to the King of Prussia, and gave Vienna instead of London the honour of hosting its premiere.

The reason was probably to give a peevish snub to England in the sizeable form of King George IV, who had upset the composer by failing to respond to the present Beethoven had made him of the manuscript score of his Battle of Vittoria, a hugely popular orchestral showpiece, complete with mechanical effects and gunfire, describing Wellington’s victory. This certainly would be in character.

What would eventually become his ninth symphony had been in Beethoven’s mind for more than 30 years, during which time he composed its eight predecessors and all his concertos.

In the treasure-trove which are Beethoven’s sketchbooks we find multitudes of scraps which would eventually be shaped and find their way into the score.