Find out what Beethoven, Brahms and Mahler have to do with the Star Trek theme

Do you know the origins of the Star Trek theme?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTaSjS1pwhQ

Those of you who thought it was created by Alexander Courage in time for the first show in the original series on 8 September 1966, is technically correct, but that hasn’t stopped speculation about where the musical inspiration for the theme came from.

Tom Allen of CBC is convinced he’s found the answer and it goes back a lot further than you may think. It turns out that our route to the final frontier runs through Beethoven’s Fourth, Brahms’ Second, and Mahler’s First symphonies.

Allen’s humorous yet insightful style is entertaining, and he raises interesting questions about how aspects of music are passed on from generation to generation.

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