Was Beethoven unable to hear the applause when the 9th Symphony premiered?
Dear Straight Dope: A prerequisite of every biography of Ludwig von Beethoven is the story of the premiere performance of his Ninth Symphony, which he conducted in by-then-total deafness. As the story goes, he conducted past the end of the final movement, and was still conducting as the audience behind him went ecstatic with applause. The musicians, seeing their conductor unable to hear the thunderous applause, were dumbstruck with grief for the tragedy of the moment, until one performer (reportedly the alto soloist) stopped the maestro and turned him to face the applause. The problem with this story is that as not only conductor but composer, Beethoven must have been acutely aware of the pacing of his own symphony, presumably having the score before him. Not even a beginning conductor could be so incompetent as to conduct past the end of his own composition, even if totally deaf. This tale is as implausible as an Indy race driver not realizing the race has ended. Is there any account
