After 40-plus years as a classical buff, I have arrived at a point where I find the Ninth to be a bit overwhelming.
Particularly, I have never “gotten” the slow movement. This is odd because Beethoven knew very well how to write slow movements that never drag.
Take for instance the funeral march in the Eroica and the second movement of the Fifth, that calm and meditative break from the fireworks of DAH-DAH-DAH-DUM!!!!
But the slow movement of the Ninth drags so badly that I can hardly remember a single note.
As for Hitler liking the Ninth? I read that he was particularly fond of the Bruckner Seventh ... and if you can find me a composer less political than Anton Bruckner, please tell me. Bruckner was an organist and his symphonies all sound like he’s playing stings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion like some big pipe organ.
Try Roger Norrington's recording from 1987 which won a Grammy. He was the first outside of Leibowitz and Toscanini to take the metronome markings seriously. His conducting of the third movement is a revelation.