Beethoven's Silent Symphony

<p>May 7, 1824. One of the great musical icons in history, Ludwig Van Beethoven, steps onto stage at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna. The audience is electric, buzzing with anticipation for a brand new&nbsp;symphony&nbsp;from the legendary composer. But there’s a rumor on their minds, something only a few know for certain... that Beethoven is deaf. He is about to conduct the debut of his Ninth&nbsp;Symphony—featuring the now-famous ‘Ode to Joy’—yet Beethoven can barely hear a thing. How was it possible for him to conduct? And more importantly, how could he have composed one of the greatest works in the history of classical music?</p><p><br></p><p> Special thanks to Jan Swafford, author of <a href="https://amzn.to/2KZIZDS" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph</em></a> (<a href="https://amzn.to/2KZIZDS" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2KZIZDS</a>)<em>.</em></p><p><br></p><p> Audio from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is provided courtesy of the <a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2F9DtxCkR6MxIOyvwJHrPl6s%3Fdomain%3Dnam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com&amp;data=02%7C01%7Cchamberse%40cso.org%7C951e61c26eee42460e2108d7e6e44a5a%7C22ac60283c30420cab88c8b33dc11e6d%7C1%7C0%7C637231740523746969&amp;sdata=6lp3xAQpYiBg2i84YUbfA1O%2BpKHfrMgIhwNMWJs4Kjo%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus</a> (<a href="https://bit.ly/2KZvyUM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2KZvyUM</a>) and <a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-us.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FLynVClY86ys2wlMYCwRcAc%3Fdomain%3Dnam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com&amp;data=02%7C01%7Cchamberse%40cso.org%7C951e61c26eee42460e2108d7e6e44a5a%7C22ac60283c30420cab88c8b33dc11e6d%7C1%7C0%7C637231740523756964&amp;sdata=vNLOhMq%2FQz50t1BSRzM4DDspPukbeuWgNRqaD%2Ff5MZ0%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Riccardo M