Radio Times: Review by:; David Butcher

You might wonder why this splendid documentary wasn’t shown before Daniel Barenboim and his West–Eastern Divan Orchestra began working through the Beethoven symphonies at this year’s Proms. It gives a masterpiece-by-masterpiece primer to what is special about each symphony, but it’s also a revealing portrait of Barenboim in rehearsals.

If you’ve seen or heard any of the Proms so far then you may not need the lessons here about the unsettled harmonic searching at the start of the Fourth or restless rhythms of the Seventh. There are also reflections on Beethoven’s peculiar optimism: as Barenboim says, “I think he had a very clear sense of order and disorder. But disorder fascinated him.”

About this programme

Conductor Daniel Barenboim explains why he believes Beethoven's nine symphonies are among the most powerful pieces of music ever created, as he performs them in China and South Korea with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Barenboim and his musicians reveal how the composer changed the world's perceptions of symphonies and orchestras, and consider why political leaders have often used Beethoven's works for their own purposes.