Sometimes, technology can truly be beautiful.
With the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the globe, nearly all live events have been postponed or canceled, as countries attempt to “flatten the curve” and slow the spread of COVID-19.
But thanks to technology, the Rotterdam Philarmonic Orchestra has gone viral and bucked the trend.
The orchestra, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2018, performed a rendition of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ with the 19 musicians each playing their part from home, EuroNews reports.
Each musician individually recorded their parts to a click track. Following that, the parts were added to an “audio mix along with archival recording of the final choir segment,” the news outlet added.
Subsequently, the video has gone viral on social media, racking up more than 6,000 views on YouTube and thousands of retweets on Twitter, as viewers are touched by the creativity and the spirit of the musicians.
“God bless you all,” one Twitter user wrote. “That’s just what I needed!”
“Beautiful,” another wrote, adding a smile emoji.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was originally written and composed in the early 1820s before it was first performed in 1824 in Austria. It represents a triumph of humanity over war and desperation and is based on a 1785 poem from German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller.
Many scholars and experts consider Symphony No. 9 to be Beethoven’s finest work.
In 2015, Fox News reported researchers who analyzed patterns in the famous composer’s music believe he may have suffered from an irregular heartbeat, evidenced by what they said were musical arrhythmias found in some of his work.
The rendition of ‘Ode to Joy’ comes at a time when concert halls are struggling around the world. As part of the $2 trillion CARES Act, which was signed by President Trump into law on Friday to help boost a struggling American economy, $25 million in funding was earmarked for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
As of Sunday morning, there have been more than 684,000 reported cases of COVID-19, including at least 124,000 in the U.S., which recently surpassed Italy and China to become the most affected country in the world.