So, browsing Youtube again… Nothing new there. However, I came across this old video of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, also known as the Ode to Joy.

Now this is a popular piece of music, not far behind that (horribly, horribly) overplayed Canon in D by Pachelbel and Orff’s O Fortuna from his Carmina Burana (damn you X Factor). Yet most people only know of the climax, which falls right in the middle, with no buildup, no resolution, no soul. Before today, I would have included myself in this category. No longer.

I guess I’d like to share this with as many people as I can (hah, how many people do I think will read this…). Anyhow…

It starts off with a short introduction by Bernstein. Did I mention a very young Placido Domingo is the solo tenor?

After all that excitement, here’s a literal version of Total Eclipse of the Heart.