Ode to Joy for flute quartet

This creative arrangement offers an extra task for the flutists: they start the piece standing separated from each other, each player in a different corner of the room. From there, they start playing national anthems of their choice in a random fashion. The result is complete musical chaos. During this time, they walk toward the stage, meeting there, and finally playing the famous chord from measure one of the last movement of Beethoven‘s 9th symphony.

The piece unfolds from there with the famous theme “Freude, schoner Gotterfunken” and some variations. It is not difficult to perform, yet gives the flutists an opportunity to learn about different cultures from the expression of those national anthems. This promotes brotherhood beyond nationality.

This quartet was written on the occasion of the re-opening of the “Schiller-Museum” in Leipzig in 2023, the house where Schiller actually wrote the lyrics of the “Ode to Joy”.