Symphony No. 5 in C minor Opus 67

by Ludwig van Beethoven

"Symphony No. 5 in C minor Opus 67" by Ludwig van Beethoven is a symphony composed between 1804 and 1808. It opens with one of music's most recognizable motifs: four notes often described as "fate knocking at the door." Written during a turbulent period marked by Beethoven's increasing deafness and Napoleon's wars, the work premiered in Vienna in 1808. Critics hailed it as profoundly moving, describing how it leads listeners into a "spirit world of the infinite" where grief and joy intertwine.