Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra & Keri-Lynn Wilson - Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (2024)

This recording of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s emotionally charged Warsaw performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony captures one of the artistic highlights of 2023. The orchestra was created as a cultural riposte to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Their Beethoven has the unique feature that its text, Schiller’s great poem of freedom “Ode to Joy”, is sung in Ukrainian, indeed it also expresses Schiller’s opening word of “Freude” (Joy) as the Ukrainian word “Slava” (Glory) to electrifying effect in a moving echo of Ukraine’s rallying call of resistance in the face of aggression, Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!").

Tracklist
01 - I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
02 - II. Scherzo. Molto vivace – Presto
03 - III. Adagio molto e cantabile
04 - IVa. Presto
05 - IVb. Allegro assai (_An die Freude_ Instrumental)
06 - IVc-d. Presto – Recit. O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! – Allegro assai (Sung in Ukrainian)
07 - IVe-f. Allegro vivace assai. Alla marcia – Chorus. Freude, schöner Götterfunken (Sung in Ukrainian)
08 - IVg. Andante maestoso. Seid umschlungen, Millionen (Sung in Ukrainian)
09 - IVh. Allegro energico, sempre ben marcato (Sung in Ukrainian)
10 - IVi. Allegro ma non tanto. Freude, Tochter aus Elysium (Sung in Ukrainian)
11 - IVj. Poco Allegro, stringendo – Prestissimo (Sung in Ukrainian)