MBL Falmouth Forum: “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony: 1824-2023” – Thomas Forrest Kelly, Harvard University

In the 200th anniversary year of its first performance, this work, with its famous Ode to Joy, has become a timeless icon; but in 1824 Vienna, nobody had heard it. With images and music, we’ll seek to re-create the experience of the premiere.The Falmouth Forum is supported by the Falmouth Forum Endowment, the Bakalar Endowed Director’s Discretionary Fund, and The Falmouth Fund of The Cape Cod Foundation.

Thomas Kelly is an historical musicologist whose interests embrace the role of music within Christian liturgy, chant, and medieval performance practice. He has written extensively on the history of medieval as well as modern music. Among his many publications are The Beneventan Chant (Cambridge University Press, 1989), First Nights at the Opera (Yale University Press, 2004), The Practice of Medieval Music: Studies in Chant and Performance (Ashgate, 2010), and Capturing Music: The Story of Notation (W.W. Norton, 2014). Professor Kelly is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres of the French Republic, and a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America.