New Classical Tracks: Beethoven's Fifth

Three quick G's and a long E-flat, the opening of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is probably the most memorable musical phrase of all time. During World War II, translated into Morse code as "dot-dot-dot-dash," it became the powerful symbol of "V for Victory." For Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, who recently recorded Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, that "V for Victory" takes on new meaning. In 1998, the idea for this orchestra was conceived in the minds of two artists and intellectuals, Israeli musician Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian writer Edward Said. These two men decided to create a workshop for young musicians from Israel and various countries of the Middle East. Their goal was to share musical knowledge between people from cultures that traditionally have been rivals.

During a rehearsal before their first performance in Palestine's West Bank last August, the members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra may have been a little distracted. It's not every day an orchestra rehearsal is guarded by troops armed with semi-automatic weapons. But inside the concert hall in Ramallah, the musicians were energized and ready to make music. Barenboim says a book could be written about the logistics of this concert. In order to enter Ramallah, each musician was issued a diplomatic passport by the Spanish government (the orchestra's summer training camps are based in Seville). One 20-year-old Israeli-Arab born in Nazareth, Nabeel Abboud Ashkar, said it was incredibly exciting to be in Ramallah. "It takes great courage for the Israelis to come to Ramallah and finally get to see the reality of how the Palestinians live. It's a very symbolic and strong gesture." Performing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in that setting may have been a symbolic gesture, too, introducing a glimmer of hope amid the raging conflict.

Public concerts were rare in Beethoven's day, as were professional orchestras. The Fifth Symphony had its premiere in a public concert organized by the composer on December 28, 1808. The orchestra he assembled basically had to sight-read this new symphony and several other major new works that were on the program that frigid winter night. By the time the Fifth rolled around, people in the audience were not only too exhausted to pay much attention to it, they were nearly frozen in the unheated concert hall. The world was not transformed by the first hearing of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony but over time the piece has come to represent transformation, which is why the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has chosen to record it. This performance is filled with the courage and the passion of these musical ambassadors.

Beethoven gave rise to something powerful and universal in this symphony, and in this performance those ideals resonate beyond geographical and political boundaries. The members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are unified in their goal to find a way to live together, to share what there is to share, to promote peace through music.

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