The performance is remembered for its emotional weight, but it also had some famously human moments:
: Opened the night, representing man's relationship with nature.
: Between the symphonies, the orchestra played two contemporary works, Mémoriale and Messagesquisse , bridging the gap between classical and modern radicalism. Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Proms 2012)
The concert was the midpoint of a historic cycle where the group performed all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies at the Proms—the first time the full cycle had been performed there since 1942. A Night of "Nature and Fate"
Critics from The Guardian and Bachtrack noted that while the Fifth had "great nobility," it was the shared effort of these musicians from conflicting backgrounds that made the performance truly linger in the memory as a symbol of hope. Beethoven: Symphony No 5 in C minor - BBC Proms 2012 The performance is remembered for its emotional weight,
: A mistake in the printed program led many audience members to believe the interval was earlier than it was. When the flute players left the stage after the first Boulez piece, a large portion of the audience mistakenly exited for the bar, leaving the hall half-full for the second piece.
: During the broadcast, the BBC highlighted the symphony's historical ties; its famous four-note motif (short-short-short-long) matches the Morse code for the letter 'V' , which led to it becoming a symbol of resistance and victory during WWII. A Night of "Nature and Fate" Critics from
On July 23, 2012, at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO). This ensemble is uniquely composed of Israeli, Palestinian, and other Arab musicians, founded by Barenboim and the late Edward Said to promote cross-cultural understanding.