Beethoven brings hope to the DRC
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Beethoven’s Ninth has long been a favourite of amateur orchestras, united in their aim of bringing people together through music. One such ensemble – the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste – was established in Kinshasa, capital of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC), in 1994. The orchestra’s founder and conductor, Armand Diangienda, had previously been a pilot, but decided to pursue his musical dreams after being laid off from his job.
Two years after Diangienda’s life-changing decision, however, the First Congo War began, culminating in the overthrow of the nation’s authoritarian ruler, Mobutu Sese Seko, in 1997. But the orchestra remained resilient throughout the conflict and the Second Congo War that followed. Recalling the events years later, Diangienda claimed that “making music together [became] a compensation for lots of problems”.
Beginning with just 12 amateur players, the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste eventually grew to comprise more than 200 members, including singers. As a result of the turmoil and hardship caused by the wars, members of the group were forced to make some of their own instruments and sheet music: violin strings were improvised from bicycle brake wire, and scores were meticulously copied out by hand.
In 2010, the orchestra put on an open-air performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to mark the 50th anniversary of the DRC’s independence from Belgium – a musical experience that inspired the ensemble’s concertmaster, Héritier Mayimbi Mbuangi, to become a composer himself.
Mbuangi’s new solo piano piece, Kintuadi (‘Let’s Unite’), will receive its premiere this May, and is dedicated to the victims of the latest tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, which began in 2022. Two hundred years after Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony entered the world, its message of peace lives on.
Violin strings were improvised from bicycle brake wire and scores were meticulously copied out by hand