Boston Philharmonic Conductor Benjamin Zander joins "Forbes Talks" to discuss Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, classical music, his legendary career, and more.
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Beethoven's 9th Symphony is a significant milestone in music history and symbolizes culture and humanity. The famous final chorus with the "Ode to Joy" represents peace and international understanding. Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv deeply connects with Beethoven's symphony and has conducted the Ninth many times. One particularly moving performance was with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, which took place the day after the Russian attack on Kyiv and Kharkiv in February 2022. The conductor finds the 4th movement especially poignant due to the lyrics written by the German poet Friedrich Schiller. When she hears the verse "All people become brothers," it reminds her that the world is still far from being peaceful. You can watch Oksana Lyniv's personal analysis of Beethoven's masterpiece.
00:00 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Oksana Lyniv & Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (excerpt)
00:34 Oksana Lyniv on Beethoven's idea combining the symphony orchestra with human voices
Oksana Lyniv, born in 1978 in the Ukrainian city of Brody, showed early interest in music, studying piano, flute, violin, and singing during her youth. She began her formal training in flute and conducting at the Liudkevych State Music College in Lviv in 1992 and later pursued her conducting studies at the Lviv National Music Academy from 1996 to 2003. In 2004, she won 3rd prize in the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, which brought her international recognition. In 2005, Lyniv worked with the orchestra as Principal Conductor Jonathan Nott's assistant. She continued her studies at Musikhochschule Dresden ("Carl Maria von Weber" College of Music) from 2005 to 2009 and took part in a master class with Ekkehard Klemm in 2007.
Between 2008 and 2013, she served as Deputy Chief Conductor at the Odesa National Opera.
Lyniv worked as a musical assistant to General Music Director Kirill Petrenko and conductor at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich from 2008 to 2017. Subsequently, she held the position of chief conductor of the Graz Opera and the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra until 2020. Oksana Lyniv is enthusiastic about promoting classical music internationally and in Ukraine. She is a co-founder of the International Festival of Classical Music LvivMozArt in Lviv, Ukraine. In 2016, she founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YsOU) and serves as its principal conductor. The orchestra frequently performs on prestigious international stages. During the Russian war against Ukraine, Lyniv views herself as a cultural ambassador for her country.
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Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it -- and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.
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Does the world still need classical music? What about orchestras? In this gorgeous talk and performance, violinist Joshua Bell and the Chamber Orchestra of America play selections of classical music masterpieces — from Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 to Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony and more — sharing why this art form remains a singularly unifying force. (Recorded at TED2025 on April 9, 2025)
