From a piece of poetry that bounced around Beethoven’s brain for 20 years before he took a music quill to it — and spent 20 more years composing around it — the Symphony No. 9 has emerged as the world’s biggest success story. It is certainly one of the best-known works of classical music. The Ninth is considered the first to incorporate a chorus and soloists. It’s acknowledged to be the unofficial bridge between the classical and romantic music era. (Felix Mendelssohn thanks you, Ludwig.) Its “Ode to Joy” in the final movement hits nearly everyone’s ear as a familiar tune: More than one person in the audiences who are hearing it Thursday through Saturday at Artis—Naples could sing it from memory. And finally, it’s versatile enough to follow Bruce Willis’ enemies around when they’re cracking open safes in Die Hard — or to bring 10,000 singers together for an annual stadiumshaking performance with various symphonies in Japan. Note to globetrotters: The next one is April 13 in Osaka. Closer to home, Beethoven’s Ninth comes to Artis—Naples after a longer-than-usual hiatus. It was to be performed in May 2020, two months after all of Florida was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic epidemic. All the rehearsals, the extra musicians, the ticket sales were shut down. It is generally programmed here around every 10 years. The expansive symphonic work demands two choruses, four soloists and extra musicians to envelop the audience in the famous “Ode to Joy” message of the final movement. There are larger symphonies — Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, tellingly nicknamed “Symphony of a Thousand” — but none with such a message of peace and harmony. That Beethoven instilled his with a profound blessing for the human family from Friedrich Schiller’s poetry gives it an emotional depth like no other. Infused with community “Beethoven’s Ninth is always special,” declared Alexander Shelley, artistic and music director for Artis— Naples and the Naples Philharmonic, who will be conducting the performances. “It was a work that, to this day, is this incredible, incredible political statement … It emanates from the spirit of that time, from the Enlightenment, the sort of ‘We want to break the bonds of monarchical and hierarchical.’ “This idea — that, everybody, we’re brothers and sisters! We’re all one beneath God. It’s something that now is taken for granted because of these ideals that then became, at the very least, part of Western culture and political heritage, but they’re now a worldwide norm in some senses.” That call to become a family did not end with a 19th-century declaration. “It’s a piece that’s so wonderful as a community builder,” Shelley continued. “You get to work with a couple hundred or 150 singers, many of whom are from our community, but love music, they love to sing. And we will have an unforgettable experience together for our audience. It will build a network of friends, of colleagues, that is new and is different from the Philharmonic. It’s part of our pass...