Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

A year after 9/11/01, my wife and I attended one of the first concerts of the new season of the NY Philharmonic. The first piece was Adams' "Transmigration of Souls" which was a searing, moving, cathartic piece that had me in tears. After intermission, the perfect antidote: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with its stirring, hopeful call to fellowship. It is often said of music that it is good for the soul, that it is uplifting and ennobling. That was certainly true that night in Avery Fisher Hall. I was very grateful to the orchestra for that performance, and very proud of being a small part of a city that could stand so tall after such a terrible blow.

Neil Purcell