Walter Meyer, in response to me:

>>...  The rough opening passage is a recapitulation of the theme of sad and
>>angry first movement.  Beethoven wants to chase them away with addition of
>>those words and then, after this feeling has hastily left, then it's time
>>to sing and shout for joy.  Gone is the depression and mania is here to
>>stay (maybe)!  There's a resemblance to some bars of finale of the 5th,
>>roughly half-way.  Also those bars are a reminder less pleasant feelings,
>>in this case expressed in the third movement.
>
>I appreciate Pablo's explanation and yours.  While I have lived w/
>the Ninth Symphony for over 50 years, i.e., I have been listening to it
>frequently during that time, it never occurred to me that "nicht diese
>Toene" (note the plural) referred to the very brief passage preceding this
>exhortation rather than to the recapitulation of parts from each of the
>earlier three movements.

This is amusing.  I have lived with the 9th for about 40 years and it
never occurred to me that it would be possible to explain these the crucial
words in another way than mine!  I was very amazed when I read about your
"troubles" with understanding these lines.  Yes, it's plural.  Of course
it is, since the return of the theme of the first movement is more than one
note.  However, I don't want to exclude that the words also point to the
recapitulation of parts of the other movements.  Maybe he wants to tell us
that all those themes of all those preceding movements are "wrong", because
they, none of them, don't express how we, brothers and sisters in joy,
should sing.  Only that particular song is the correct one and yes, he has
already shown it, but then the ghosts from the past return and he has to
chase them away.  With those words.

>What makes the matter even more confusing for me is that the "O Freunde..."
>passage comes *after* the "Ode to Joy" theme is played and played with.
>Your explanation, which I don't necessarily reject, would mean that LvB
>treats us to reminders of the separate movements that had gone before,
>each fascinating in its individual way, followed by the new "Ode to Joy"
>theme, which is itself developed at some length, after which the soloist
>rejects the rough-hewn opening notes to the movement (which but for their
>repetition here would have been superseded in our consciousness by the
>summaries from the symphony's earlier and impending movements) in favor
>of the "Ode to Joy".  Musically, it may work fine.

Exactly.  Now you've understand what he wanted to express.  And you're
quite right with this line:

>All of which, I guess proves, that music and narrative arts don't always
>follow the same track.

Beethoven often is attacked because of those recapitulations.  I've read
more than one digression on the symphony where it's called a "cheap and
childish trick".  I have very mixed feelings about it.  I also find it
somewhat cheap and childish.  However, it works.  And how!

Joyce Maier
www.ademu.com/Beethoven