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Ode to Joy: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 John Lithgow hosts a remarkable concert held on the occasion of philanthropist, musician, and civil rights champion William H. Scheide’s 100th birthday. The PBS national special was shot in Princeton and Vienna and aired nationally in 2016. Ode to Joy is a 90-minute PBS performance special interspersed with documentary stories shot in Princeton and Vienna. The program was underwritten by The Work Foundation, Paul G. Haaga Jr., Edward T. Cone Foundation and The Martha Norris Foundation.

Ode to Joy: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is available on Shop PBS and Amazon Prime.

Ode to Joy (Trailer)

Beethoven’s greatest symphony, the monumental Symphony No. 9 is performed by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, which traveled to Princeton, NJ especially for the occasion, the famed Westminster Choir, and conductor Mark Laycock.

Ode to Joy (Behind-the-scenes)

This short behind-the-scenes video shows how one of the world’s most experienced classical music production teams prepares the audio recording, lighting and coordinates 8 cameras, half remotely operated, to record a live symphony performance featuring almost 200 performers. The feature was originally produced for PCK Media’s ongoing public television series State of the Arts.