No piece of orchestral music pulls more people to YouTube than Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, his last symphony for orchestra and chorus that ends with the glorious Ode to Joy.
In fact, seven of the most-watched symphony videos of all time are performances of this single symphony. These seven videos have racked up over 83 million views.
Beethoven conducting
Here are the seven most-viewed performances of the Beethoven 9th Symphony on YouTube, ranked from least to most popular.
7. Frankfurt Radio Symphony: Crisp and Transparent
Andrés Orozco-Estrada
1.6 million views
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony brings a transparent sound to this performance under Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, who served as the ensemble’s chief conductor from 2014 to 2021.
You may have seen this combination of conductor and orchestra before. Their performances of the classical music canon have earned them millions of listeners. In fact, as of this writing, their channel, with over 1,000 videos, has garnered 280 million views.
This performance balances warmth and brisk crispness. The resulting textural transparency and the ability to hear much of the piece’s structure make it a compelling entry point for newcomers to the symphony.
6. European Union Youth Orchestra: Perfect Mix of Orchestra and Repertoire
Vasily Petrenko
1.8 million views
The final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth contains a finale for chorus and orchestra: a radical innovation in symphonic form.
Beethoven chose to set a poem by Friedrich Schiller called “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”), celebrating the joy of universal brotherhood.
The European Union Youth Orchestra was founded in 1976 as a symbol of European cultural unity, and in 1985, the Ode to Joy was named the official anthem of the EU, making this repertoire a natural fit.
During the Ode to Joy, the audience – including the people in the plaza outside – was invited to sing along. This unique audience participation turns the concert into an expression of belonging.
5. Le Concert des Nations: The 1820s Version
2 million views
Conductor and viol player Jordi Savall is one of the most famous names in historically informed performance.
His 2022 period-instrument reading of Beethoven’s Ninth with Le Concert des Nations offers a leaner, more transparent sound than a modern-instrument version.
They also use a new score, published by scholar Beate Angelika Kraus in 2020, reflecting the cutting edge of Beethoven scholarship.
If you’ve only ever heard modern-instrument versions, the speed and lightness of this version is revelatory. Even if you’ve heard Beethoven’s Ninth a hundred times before, you will hear something new in it here.
4. Gewandhaus Orchestra: The Interpretation With a Pedigree
2.6 million views
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra has one of the oldest, most distinguished orchestral lineages in Europe. Their predecessor organisation began playing in 1743.
They began evolving into a modern ensemble in 1835, when composer and conductor Felix Mendelssohn became music director (a position he held until his death in 1847).
Ever since, the orchestra has played under a series of great conductors, including Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Bruno Walter.
In this performance, Riccardo Chailly, who led the ensemble from 2005 to 2016, brings energy and rhythmic precision to their Beethoven.
Great orchestras pass their sound down from generation to generation, so this is a performance with real authority and a long institutional memory behind it, and worthy of a listen.
3. Oslo Philharmonic: New Modern Energy
7.1 million views
These last three performances are when the view counts start to jump dramatically.
Klaus Mäkelä’s ascent has been dizzying. He was named the Oslo Philharmonic’s chief conductor at the age of 22; the Orchestre de Paris’s chief conductor at 24; and, at 26, the next music director of the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
This version is sharp, committed, and direct: fitting for an ambitious conductor.
2. West-Eastern Divan Orchestra: Seeking Universal Brotherhood
13 million views
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by Daniel Barenboim and the late scholar Edward Said, brings together musicians from Israel, Palestine, and other Middle Eastern backgrounds to learn new music together.
This particular ensemble playing Beethoven’s hymn to universal brotherhood gives the performance an emotional charge that no other recording on this list can match.
This performance was taped at the Proms in London in 2012.
1. Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The Mega-Viral Performance
Riccardo Muti
55 million views
The most-watched orchestral video on YouTube by a wide margin, this 2014 performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti has been viewed 55 million times.
The YouTube heatmap shows the biggest spike near the 53-minute mark – the quiet, spine-tingling moment where the Ode to Joy theme first appears in the low strings.
Once you know it’s coming, you’ll go back to watch it ten times.
Conclusion
Musicians, conductors, and orchestras from around the world have been drawn to perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for generations, resulting in countless recordings.
Whether you’re looking for the best recording of Beethoven’s 9th, a historically informed period-instrument version, or simply the most-watched Beethoven on YouTube, these seven performances are an excellent place to start.
Two hundred years after it was written, audiences are still pressing play.
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