“It didn’t take long for Beethoven’s last symphony, with its famous choral finale extolling universal brotherhood, to take on iconic stature. It represented for many people a spiritual, as well as musical, high. That the piece carried the number 9 just added to the significance, for, as any numerologist (or long-lived cat) will tell you, nine can be awfully potent. Some ancient cultures considered it a sacred number. Those who value things in threes view nine as the ultimate – three times three. So, if mighty Beethoven stopped at nine, lesser mortals would surely have to do the same.”