The inner world of Beethoven’s ninth symphony: Masculineandfeminine?

A Matter of Wife and Death: Reflections on Music and Violence

“…Musicologists, however, have not confined themselves to the interpretation of librettos, but have extended their insight to instrumental music. In his recent paper, Grier quotes the American musicologist McClary, who put forward a revolutionary view of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, in which she heard ‘frustrated, damming up energy which finally explodes in the throttling, murderous rage of a rapist incapable of attaining release’ (McClary, Minnesota Composers Forum Newsletter January 1987, in Grier, 2020, p. 85). McClary's comment is part of her wider interpretation of the symphonic structure, the sonata form, as an expression of patriarchal values, and even male to female violence and domination.…”

“…McClary's comment is part of her wider interpretation of the symphonic structure, the sonata form, as an expression of patriarchal values, and even male to female violence and domination. In his thoughtful critique to McClary's ideas, Grier puts forward his view, ‘that the form is symbolically and structurally … bisexual’ (Grier, 2020, p. 89), and that the Ninth Symphony represents the universal struggle of a claustro‐agoraphobic relationship with the mother (Grier, 2020). A fundamental point for the subject of this paper is the idea that it is possible to understand music as evoking gender representations, feelings and relationships, including violent ones.…”