Because the overall subject of this website is seeking freedom from Nazi tyranny in WWII, I thought it would be appropriate to include some serious pieces of music celebrating freedom. I will add more links to the list as they occur to me. I welcome suggestions.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement, Schiller’s Ode to Joy (originally Ode to Freedom). According to Wikipedia, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” has remained a protest anthem and a celebration of music. From demonstrators in Chile singing during demonstration(s) against the Pinochet dictatorship, (to the) Chinese student broadcast at Tiananmen Square, (and) the concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein at (the) fall of (the) Berlin (Wall).”
- 10,000 sing Ode an de Freude (Ode to Joy): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBlQZyTF_LY
- Flash mob, Ode to Joy, Sabadell, plaça de san Roc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJcQYVtZMo
- Ode to Joy with lyrics in German and English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pbMUEHvoAo
- 3rd Movement, part 1, Ode to Freedom – 1989 – Leonard Bernstein conducting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIu_SgPMXBA
- 3rd Movement, part 2, Ode to Freedom – 1989 – Leonard Bernstein conducting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X393pDlxgPE
- 4th Movement, part 1, Ode to Freedom – 1989 – Leonard Bernstein conducting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsVxEZNIJpI
- 4th Movement, part 2, Ode to Freedom – 1989 – Leonard Bernstein conducting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IciKr8NUmKs
Beethoven’s Egmont Overture – According to Wikipedia, Egmont celebrates the life and heroism of the Dutch nobleman, the Count of Egmont, in his opposition to Spanish tyranny over the Flemish. Egmont was executed by the Spanish Duke of Alba. In the Egmont Overture, Beethoven was expressing his opposition to Napoleon’s having crowned himself Emperor in 1804. It later became the unofficial anthem of the Hungarian revolution of 1956.
- Egmont Overture, Christian Thielemann, chief conductor of the Staatskapelle, Dresden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoCp3QTYimA.
- Egmont Overture, Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QY8G4OJG6c
Beethoven’s Fidelio. Wikipedia describes Beethoven’s opera, Fidelio, as a “story of personal sacrifice, heroism and eventual triumph with its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary movements in Europe.” In it, Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named Fidelio, rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. The opera’s Prisoners’ Chorus “is an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners.”
- Leonore Overture No. 3, Leonard Bernstein conducting the New Philharmony of St. Petersburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRhwyzJABvI.
- Prisoners’ Chorus, Bergen Nasjonale Opera and the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre, 2013, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Litton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReSwAZ8jNyQ.
- The Prisoners’ Chorus, “O Welche Lust, in freier Lust,” Leonard Bernstein conducting, Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, 1978: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhMdMD9tXB0.
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – Wikipedia’s article on the 5th Symphony explains the significance of the opening four notes of the symphony and how it became identified with the Allied victory in WWII. Click here for the article.
- Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, Christian Thielemann, chief conductor of the Staatskapelle, Dresden, conducting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jh-E5m01wY
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture
- In Russian with paintings of scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrsYD46W1U0
- Leningrad Philharmonic with Itzhak Perlman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEkTZ5zlGRw
WWII Netherlands Escape Lines 