In May, we look at Symphony No. 5. For many, it’s hard to imagine not knowing them: those first four notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. The power. The drive. The relentless determination.

Symphony No. 5: Four Indelible Notes By Brad Turner Nov. 6, 2015, 6:01 pm Listen Now ...

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, which he wrote between 1804 and 1808, is, of course, much longer. Indeed, the musical cornerstone is in four movements, all of which you can listen to in the video below.

Ludwig Van Beethoven performed Symphony No. 5 for the first time in public in Vienna on this day in history, Dec. 22, 1808. It has become perhaps the world's most famous musical composition.

Eight years ago Manhattan’s radio station WQXR (which plays no jazz) polled its listeners, found Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 the favorites.