The auditorium on the seafront was packed to capacity to hear what was supposedly Ludwig van Beethoven's last symphony. Theoretically, because there was a later one, the Tenth, which was only missing one movement. So much so that on May 7, 1824, when the... Symphony No. 9, Op. 125, in D minor at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna, with the composer present and on stage —which they had to turn towards the audience so that he could enjoy the intensity of the applause; If it is not vero, it is well trovato—, the three movements that the genius from Bonn had already completed were also performed. An anecdotal circumstance, since the Novena It has overshadowed everything. Undoubtedly, and without getting into rankings that might seem purely sporting, what is clear is that this "last" one is the most imposing of the eight preceding ones. The description monumental It has become a prefix for the Ninth Symphony, for the simple reason that it takes both a heart and an orchestra large enough to reach this great musical summit.

Year after year, Leopold Hager, who will turn ninety in 2025, conducts the Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra, proving once again that it is still a luxury to see him in action, still displaying some of his trademarks in all their splendor, such as his precision and intensity, that when he heard the still adolescent Beethoven playing the piano, he exclaimed: "Listen to this boy. One day the world will talk about him." A few years later, four to be exact, Beethoven began his composition apprenticeship with Franz Joseph Haydn, Mozart's "father, guide, and friend," shortly before the maestro left for London again. The circle closes with another circumstance: Austria, where Haydn and Beethoven met, naturally Haydn and Mozart also met, but it is also where Leopold Hager was born and began his career.