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, but it also had some famously human moments:

The evening, titled , was themed around "Nature and Fate". Barenboim made the unconventional choice to play the symphonies in reverse order:

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"

: Between the symphonies, the orchestra played two contemporary works, Mémoriale and Messagesquisse , bridging the gap between classical and modern radicalism.