British première of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

Sir George Smart, Charles Neate and Ferdinand Ries were important in making Ludwig van Beethoven's music known at the Philharmonic Society.

[3] Neate invited Beethoven to London for the 1825 season to conduct the symphony, offering 300 guineas for him to bring two new compositions; however, no visit took place.

[3] The reviewer in The Harmonicon wrote: "In the present symphony we discover no diminution of Beethoven's creative talent; it exhibits many perfectly new traits, and in its technical formation shews amazing ingenuity and unabated vigour of mind.

The last movement, a chorus... does not... mix up with the three first movements.... What relation it bears to the symphony we could not make out; and here, as well as in other parts, the want of intelligible design is too apparent.... [W]e must express our hope that this new work of the great Beethoven may be put into a more produceable form; that the repetitions may be omitted, and the chorus removed altogether...."[5] The reviewer in The Quarterly Musical Magazine & Review wrote: "...[I]ts length alone will be a never-failing cause of complaint... as it takes up exactly one hour and twenty minutes... which is not compensated by any beauty of unity of design, taking the composition as a whole....

The fourth and last movement... is one of the most extraordinary instances I have ever witnessed, of great powers of mind and wonderful science, wasted upon subjects infinitely beneath its strength.

But... parts of this movement... are really beautiful... — but even here, while we are enjoying the delights of so much science and melody... we are snatched away from such eloquent music, to rude, wild and extraneous harmonies....

I must consider this new symphony as the least excellent of any Beethoven has produced, as an unequal work, abounding more in noise, eccentricity, and confusion of design, than in those grand and lofty touches he so well knows how to make us feel...."[6]