Beethoven's Fifth

The opening of Beethoven's Fifth symphony is perhaps the most instantly recognisable piece of classical music: it has been reused and remixed in film and pop music, sent into interstellar space on board of the Voyager spacecraft and immortalised in wartime BBC broadcasts. But can that familiarity sometimes obscure the groundbreaking nature and emotional power of the work?

The Hong-Kong-born conductor Elim Chan opens the 2024 Proms season with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus in a programme that also includes a brand new work from a young British/Japanese composer. Andrew McGregor and conductor Alice Farnham introduce this concert from the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Broadcast programme:
Ben Nobuto - Hallelujah Sim. (BBC commission, world premiere)
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 in C minor

(Photo: Conductor Elim Chan at the 2024 BBC Proms. Credit BBC/Chris Christodoulou)