“Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony” by Albin

The Voyager Company’s new CD Companion Series combines the interactivity of HyperCard with a CD audio disc to provide insight into a specific piece of music, using text, graphics and audio examples taken from the CD. In this first volume, music historian Robert Winter explores Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, painting a vivid picture of the composer’s world, explaining the inner workings of the music in a lively and entertaining fashion, and applying these explanations to a close reading of the work. The volume includes an electrifying performance of the Ninth Symphony by the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Chorus, under the direction of Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. 

The five sections or levels of the program may be used in any order, and users can easily move from one section to another:

• A Pocket Guide provides a single-screen overview of the entire symphony and allows the listener to hear any of its major sections immediately.
• Beethoven’s Work examines Beethoven’s life and times, tracing the social, political, and historical environment in which the Ninth Symphony was created.
• The Art of Listening explains the inner workings of music, using examples from the Ninth Symphony to illustrate general concepts.
• A Close Reading gives detailed real-time commentary on the entire 68-minute work, while allowing users unlimited freedom to search and browse at their own pace.
• The Ninth Game challenges the listener’s understanding with a question-and-answer game for one to four players.

This hypermedia exploration of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony received MacWorld’s 1991 SuperStack Award.

Hardware and Software: HyperCard on disk, CD-ROM

Special Thanks To Edith Bjornson, The Markle Foundation