Kärntner Straße

This guide to Kärntner Straße in Vienna returns to the seventh of May 1824, when a nearly deaf Ludwig van Beethoven took the stage of the long-vanished Karntnertortheater to conduct the premiere of his Ninth Symphony. It follows the orchestra secretly told to watch a second conductor instead of him, and the ovation that broke out the moment the symphony ended. Picture the scene next time you cross this stretch of shops and cafes.