Ten years would pass before this final symphony' s completion， ten years in which Beethoven shed blood over every note， considering and rejecting over two-hundred different versions of the "Joy" theme alone. At the end of that time， he offered to the public a radically new creation that was part symphony and part oratorio， a hybrid that proved puzzling to his less daring observers. The conductor Louis Spohr， who knew Beethoven， asserted privately that the piece was "tasteless，" and Verdi， who， it must be admitted knew a thing or two about how to blend music and words， lamented that the grand finale was "badly set." Yet others have better understood Beethoven' s final symphonic work， and have defended it eloquently. Let us give Claude Debussy the last word： "It is the most triumphant example of the molding of an idea to the preconceived form； at each leap forward there is a new delight， without either effort or appearance of repetition； the magical blossoming， so to speak， of a tree whose leaves burst forth simultaneously. Nothing is superfluous in this stupendous work. Beethoven had already written eight symphonies and the figure nine seems to have had for him an almost mystic significance， he determined to surpass himself. I can scarcely see how his success can be questioned."
这是一则耳熟能详的故事：迈入老年的贝多芬，疾病缠身，双耳失聪，却出色地完成了《第九交响曲》首次公演的指挥。甚至当乐队与合唱队停止表演，成功新作到达尾声，观众已经开始热烈鼓掌后，贝多芬依然陶醉在忘我的指挥中，直到一位歌手把他转向观众，他才知道雷鸣般的欢呼声已经响彻整个礼堂。
当时的场景令人感动不已，就连愤世嫉俗的历史学家都产生了怀疑，他们简直不敢相信交响曲能够如此完美。可是这一次，那些愤世嫉俗者显然错了，因为几位出席了1824年5月7日那场意义非凡的演出的观众复述了同样的故事。可他们的故事有所不同。一些人认为戏剧性的时刻发生在交响曲结束时，而另外一些人则坚持认为是在谐谑曲结束时。随着时光流逝，观众们不断地向传记作者讲述，这个故事的不同说法也就随之产生了。不管观众的掌声是何时响起的，贝多芬听不到声音的事实证明：如此美妙的乐曲，他从未听到一个音符。想象一下这个冷酷的事实，你不禁会赞叹命途多舛的贝多芬居然能够指挥合唱团演唱如此欢快美妙的乐曲。