Correspondence

Mr Zander,

One windy night here in Melbourne, there was a concert broadcast on TV of Beethovens 9th, conducted by the little german with the passionate shock of hair. During the finale the sound cut out. Something wrong with the broadcast tape. For a full ten minutes I heard the ninth as Beethoven might have heard it (exteriorly). For a moment (I love the ninth) I had snatched away, what poor old Ludwig had also lost. The full weight of his suffering came upon me. It was a poignant moment. It brought home your point, that Beethovens music is always about the transcendence of limitations. There is no suffering that this music cannot console. His attainment of immortality was not in vain. He meant to console us - and fire us on. Your recordings are amazing. can't wait to hear the 3rd.