Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (‘Choral’)

Undoubtedly, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is the culmination of his genius. In it, he uses solo voices in a symphony for the first time, setting the words of Schiller’s poem An die Freude. It is the longest and most complex of all his symphonies. It was his last symphony and scholars consider it the most important piece of classical music ever written. Following this monumental work, classical music changed forever.  And yet, Beethoven was working on a tenth symphony when he died and one can only wonder what glorious music might have been created.