The Curse of the Ninth (23)

The curse of the Ninth Symphony is one of classical music's juiciest bits of lore, akin to rock music's "27 Club"—and like that legend, the truth of the matter is more complicated than the gossip suggests. Although composers like Mozart and Haydn had completed dozens of symphonies, the "curse of the Ninth" is said to have begun with the death of Beethoven, likely the most famous symphonist, who never completed his Tenth. Other big names— Dvořák, Vaughan Williams, Bruckner, Schubert—are often cited as victims of the curse, but the lore probably owes its enduring power to Gustav Mahler, who was allegedly so superstitious about the curse that he published Das Lied von der Erde as "A Symphony for Tenor, Alto (or Baritone) Voice and Orchestra" rather than giving it the number 9. The irony, of course, is that he died after completing his Ninth Symphony—which would have been his Tenth if he hadn't been afraid of the curse!

"It seems that the Ninth is a limit. He who wants to go beyond it must pass away. It seems as if something might be imparted to us in the Tenth which we ought not yet to know, for which we are not ready. Those who have written a Ninth stood too close to the hereafter." — Arnold Schoenberg
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Daniel Barenboim conducts Beethoven — With Anne-Sophie Mutter
Daniel Barenboim conducts Beethoven — With Anne-Sophie Mutter

Staatskapelle Berlin

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Herbert von Karajan conducts Dvořák's Symphony No. 9
Herbert von Karajan conducts Dvořák's Symphony No. 9

Wiener Philharmoniker

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Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony No. 10 — With Anne Sofie von Otter and Jonas Kaufmann
Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony No. 10 — With Anne Sofie von Otter and Jonas Kaufmann

Berliner Philharmoniker

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Sir Simon Rattle conducts Britten and Bruckner – With Ian Bostridge
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Britten and Bruckner – With Ian Bostridge

Moving to Modern Times (I/II) – Lucerne Festiva...

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Sir Simon Rattle conducts Mendelssohn, Bach and Beethoven — With Christian Tetzlaff, Camilla Tilling, Nathalie Stutzmann, Joseph Kaiser, Dimitry Ivashchenko
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Mendelssohn, Bach and Beethoven — With Christian Tetzlaff, Camilla Tilling, Nathalie Stutzmann, Joseph Kaiser, Dimitry Ivashchenko

Waldbühne 2013 – Berliner Philharmoniker

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Iván Fischer conducts Schubert and Bruckner
Iván Fischer conducts Schubert and Bruckner

Budapest Festival Orchestra

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Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 9
Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 9

Lucerne Festival in Summer 2010

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Herbert von Karajan conducts Bruckner's Symphony No. 9
Herbert von Karajan conducts Bruckner's Symphony No. 9

Berliner Philharmoniker

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Semyon Bychkov conducts Dvořák, Smetana, and Martinů
Semyon Bychkov conducts Dvořák, Smetana, and Martinů

Concert for the 100th Anniversary of the Foundi...

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Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9

Discovering Masterpieces of Classical Music

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Claudio Abbado conducts Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák, and Verdi — With Gil Shaham
Claudio Abbado conducts Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák, and Verdi — With Gil Shaham

Europakonzert 2002, Palermo

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Claudio Abbado conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
Claudio Abbado conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

Berliner Philharmoniker

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Erich Leinsdorf conducts Schubert, Schumann and Wagner
Erich Leinsdorf conducts Schubert, Schumann and Wagner

Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1962-1964

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Mariss Jansons conducts Bruckner and Beethoven
Mariss Jansons conducts Bruckner and Beethoven

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

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Otto Klemperer conducts Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Otto Klemperer conducts Beethoven's 9th Symphony

New Philharmonia Orchestra

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Neeme Järvi conducts Dvořák, Shchedrin and Shostakovich – With Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky
Neeme Järvi conducts Dvořák, Shchedrin and Shostakovich – With Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky

Romantic Offering: world premiere – Luzerner Si...

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Dvořák: New World Symphony
Dvořák: New World Symphony

Keys to the Orchestra by Jean-François Zygel

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Rudolf Kempe conducts Strauss and Dvořák
Rudolf Kempe conducts Strauss and Dvořák

BBC Proms, 1974 and 1975

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Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor

Discovering Beethoven with Joachim Kaiser and C...

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Riccardo Muti and Violeta Urmana perform Verdi, Martucci and Schubert
Riccardo Muti and Violeta Urmana perform Verdi, Martucci and Schubert

Europakonzert 2009, Napoli

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Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra

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Libor Pešek conducts Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From The New World"
Libor Pešek conducts Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From The New World"

The Prague Symphony Orchestra's Dvořák Cycle Vo...

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Yuri Temirkanov conducts Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10
Yuri Temirkanov conducts Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10

Verbier Festival 2009

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