UK Edition
Musicians from Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra have joined forces to perform Beethoven’s 9th symphony together from their bedrooms.
Members of the Dutch symphony orchestra, who were self-isolating due to coronavirus, recorded a video of themselves collaborating from to play “Ode to Joy.”
“We’re adjusting to a new reality and we’ll have to find solutions in order to support each other,” the musicians said in the video. “Creative forces help us, let’s think outside of the box and use innovation to keep our connection and make it work together.”
The video took around a week to produce and involved 19 musicians each playing the same song on their respective instruments in time to a click track. Soundtracks from each video were then combined to create the final collaborative piece.
The final video, which was created with the help of Dutch healthcare provider Senior Service, already has more than half a million views on YouTube.
The music industry has been hit hard by coronavirus with thousands of live concerts and gigs cancelled in a bid to avoid the build-up of crowds where the virus could quickly spread.
According to a survey from the Musicians’ Union, British musicians have already suffered a dramatic loss in earnings of around £13.9m because of coronavirus.
The performance from the Rotterdam Philharmonic comes as Europe has seen itself become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, as the number of infections globally soared past 300,000 last week.
Music has become a source of relief for many citizens across the continent who have retreated into quarantine in the face of a rapidly increasing death toll from the disease.
Italy, the worst affected country in Europe from the disease, has witnessed people stuck at home sing from their balconies into mostly empty streets.
The effort from the Netherlands has inspired others around the world to follow suit, including members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which posted a recording of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring online on Sunday.
The recording, which involved the musicians filming themselves at home before having their individual clips edited into one video, has picked up more than 42,000 views in 24 hours.
A note attached to the video said: “Sending love to everyone in Toronto and across the world. No matter what distance keeps us apart, we’ll still find ways to make music together and celebrate the gifts of spring.”