Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: Is Classical Music Political?
It seems odd to ask the question. Music, after all, is often described as the universal language, with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony perhaps being one of the most “universal” pieces of Western music. Yet, given the work’s controversial performance history, it begs the question whether classical music is political.
By Joseph John L. Verallo · June 9, 2026
Music and politics have, on numerous occasions, gone hand in hand. Musical works have been performed to support regimes, and artists have withheld performances in protest to regimes, as was the case with Toscanini and Mussolini. The question of whether classical music is political–specifically Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony–isn’t so absurd when you recall that Beethoven wrote his Third Symphony commemorating Napoleon and the French Revolution (that is, before Napoleon was crowned emperor). Indeed, speaking about the composer, pianist-conductor Daniel Barenboim said:
“[H]e was a deeply political man in the broadest sense of the word. He was concerned with moral behavior and the larger questions of right and wrong affecting all of society.”
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was “revolutionary” for many reasons, the inclusion of a choral section in the last movement being a significant factor, at least concerning aesthetics. Although most of us, I assume, can’t speak German, the meaning and content of its lyrics (Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy) have cemented themselves into the movement’s melody.
“Alle Menschen werden Brüder” (Every man becomes a brother)
Through a combination of Schiller’s fraternal spirit and Beethoven’s beloved melody, the symphony has become a symbol of the universal brotherhood of mankind. Yet in his 2012 documentary The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, the philosopher Slavoj Žižek described a downside to this universality.
Perhaps the darkest moments of the symphony’s performance history were during the Nazi regime, when work was performed and heard in numerous public events including propaganda films, the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and Adolf Hitler’s 53rd birthday. Despite standing for the democratic ideals of the French Revolution, Beethoven was appropriated as a cultural symbol for the Nazi’s German nationalism.
The work has also been used by the Soviet Union and the CCP under Mao to support communist sentiments, by the Southern Rhodesian (now Zimbabwe) apartheid regime in the 1970s, and even mentioned as a favorite by Peruvian Maoist revolutionary Abimael Guzmán. To date, a portion of its famous last movement is the unofficial anthem of the European Union.
The fact that several diametrically opposed regimes coopted Beethoven’s work is a testament to its universality. However, it also shows how the music can be shaped to align with whatever specific cause its wielder may choose.
Žižek likens the universality of the Ninth Symphony to ideology, which, according to him, is never just one meaning; ideology functions as an “empty container open to all possible meanings.” The music and ideology both share a sense of neutrality capable of moving an audience at a deeper level. Moreover, he cautions against the neutrality that the music seems to convey, saying:
“This neutrality of a frame is never as neutral as it seems… Whenever an ideological text says ‘All Humanity unite in brotherhood,’ you should always ask: ‘Okay, but are these really all or is someone excluded?’”