A Fifth of Beethoven

Man, what a cheesy and insulting song that was.... A Fifth of Beethoven... which hit the airwaves and record shelves back at the height of the disco era, in 1976. Ol' Ludwig must have been spinning in his grave when that atrocity was created. I remember hearing it on the local AM radio station, and I think a friend of mine even bought the 45rpm single - which sat briefly at Number 1 on the Billboard Chart. I wasn't very interested. The latest KISS album was probably the focus of my tween-aged attention at the time. 

Fun fact: it was on this day in 1800 that Beethoven's very 1st Symphony in C was performed live. There were no cameras, cell phones, or other recording devices present at the time. 

My ancient cassette tape of

the A Clockwork Orange 

music soundtrack

It wasn't until high school that I got my first dose of Ludwig van Beethoven's music. A friend invited me over to watch the 1972 movie A Clockwork Orange on VHS tape. The film featured a great deal of classical music, most notably the famed Ninth Symphony by Beethoven. This symphony is at least as well-known as the Beethoven's Fifth, if not more, and it's considered one of the greatest compositions in the history of western music. 

I think it was the music of A Clockwork Orange that caught my interest the most. Yes, I loved the weird and perverse dystopian story in the movie, but it was the musical soundtrack that totally won me over. I bought that on cassette tape and played it endlessly for many years. The best bits for me, though, were the dramatic and heavenly choral sections of the symphony. 

My ticket stub from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at

Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto 1985

I bought all of Beethoven's symphonies on tape back during my college years in the mid-80's. That nice little collection got a lot of play, especially during the late hours of the night, when I was hunkered down over schoolwork. That same old friend who first exposed me to Ludwig van and Clockwork Orange invited me to attend a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. Wow... it was like a religious experience! 

In the mid-90's, I found a beautiful set of all nine symphonies (1963, conducted by the illustrious Herbert von Karajan, famed for his Beethoven work) on compact disc for a knock-out price. I didn't hesitate for a moment to snap that up. Even today, at this very moment, I can look upon that box set (and my little ceramic bust of old Ludwig) on display in my living room. I don't go to my classical CDs much these days, but if I do ever get the itch, it's usually Beethoven I'll slap into the player. 

A real class act.