Beethoven’s 9th Symphony re-invented for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch







DG's first app, "Beethoven 9", a partnership with Touch Press, the company behind the acclaimed apps The Orchestra and The Elements, is available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Try out the free versions now and discover Beethoven's iconic 9th Symphony in a new, interactive way.

See iPhone Screens

On 8 April 2014 the app has won the BBC Music Magazine Award in the category "App Award".

On 21 November 2013 the app has won the UK FutureBook Innovation Award in the category "Best Reference Digital App".


The main features are:

  • Four legendary performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony from the DG catalogue:


    includes DG star conductor of the 1950's Ferenc Fricsay's first stereo recording of this work from 1958 with the Berliner Philharmoniker; Herbert von Karajan's widely acclaimed 1962 recording with the same orchestra; the widely loved and charismatic maestro Leonard Bernstein's video recording from 1979 with the Wiener Philharmoniker; and the ground-breaking 1992 recording on period instruments conducted by John Eliot Gardiner with the new Jonathan del Mar edition of the score from Bärenreiter.

  • switch on-the-fly during playback between the four interpretations and compare different approaches to the music
  • watch synchronized score or read expert commentary while you listen to the music
  • immerse yourself in the hypnotic graphical »BeatMap« highlighting every note
  • watch interviews in the Insights section with eminent personalities including Gustavo Dudamel and John Eliot Gardiner
  • Read the story of the work written especially for this app by broadcaster David Owen Norris

The technology available to the user in this app shows how individual our greatest recordings of this iconic symphonic masterpiece are. Max Whitby, CEO of Touch Press, the company behind the critically acclaimed apps The Elements, Shakespeare's Sonnets and Leonardo, said: "It is a privilege working closely with Deutsche Grammophon to bring their legendary recordings of the Ninth Symphony to the iPad and iPhone. Together we are aiming to set a new standard for publishing classical music in interactive digital format."

The App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone or iPod touch including two minutes of the symphony with all features enabled. The full experience is then unlocked through In-App Purchase.

Prices:

  • iPad: $ 13.99/ £ 9.99/ € 12,99
    (Users receive both versions of app for the price of the iPad version)
  • iPhone / iPod touch: $ 7.99/ £ 5.49/ € 6,99
    (iPhone version includes almost all of the playback experience, but not the Insights or The Story sections)