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Beethoven's Fifth Symphony canceled? Classical piece labeled 'symbol of elitism', fans say cancel 'WAP' too

The composition of 'Fifth Symphony’, which was written between 1804 and 1808, is once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons

Ludwig van Beethoven's music ranks amongst the most performed of the classical music genre. Beethoven is widely known for his classic compositions like ‘Violin Concerto,’ ‘Fidelio,’ ‘Egmont’ and ‘Septet.’ However, his Fifth Symphony is considered his best ever so much so that it is discussed, dissected and debated all over the world even today.

Now the ‘Fifth Symphony,’ which was written between 1804 and 1808 is making headlines for all the wrong reasons after Vox did a podcast called ‘Switched on Pop’ in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic. In the podcast, classical music critic James Bennett II and New York Philharmonic clarinetist Anthony McGill discussed the iconic symphony and ended up labeling it “a symbol of elitism and exclusion.” You can listen to the controversial podcast on Spotify.

As published by Vox, McGill says in the podcast, “If you pretend like there’s no other music out there that Beethoven is the greatest music that ever will matter, then orchestras will alienate new listeners, since we’re not promoting any of the composers alive today that are trying to become the Beethovens of their day.”

The publication shared a tweet on their official Twitter account and posted, “Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is one of classical music’s most famous works. But to many, it’s also a symbol of elitism and exclusion. Listen to @SwitchedOnPop  and @nyphil  explain why.”

The controversial statement was not received positively by social media users. Fans slammed the prevailing “cancel culture” for labeling the iconic symphony “a symbol of elitism and exclusion.” People stormed on to Twitter to express their points of view.

One user tweeted, “Before Vox can judge the “elitism and exclusion” of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to generate clicks and views with such a ridiculous take, I challenge Vox Media, Inc. to examine the elitism and exclusion of using venture capitalist investors to fund a $1 billion media conglomerate.” Another social media user said, “So we blast WAP all over the internet as something that is beautiful, original, and celebrated. But when real music, the transcendent work of Beethoven is mentioned, it is deemed elite and exclusionary? We are irredeemable as a society. Disgraceful.”

Sharing the same feeling, one stated, “Wow #CancelCulture really need to find something better to do, now they trying to 'cancel' #Beethoven's 5th Symphony, talking about how 'it’s also a symbol of elitism and exclusion'. Just STFU!!! The man's work is legendary, plus HE'S BEEN DEAD FOR ALMOST 200 YEARS!!! SMH.” Another shared, “The cancel Beethoven movement is one of the most absurd things I've ever read. And I've read a lot of Absurd sh*t. Srsly, it's almost Alex Jones level absurd except it's not funny.”

Beethoven’s ‘Fifth Symphony’ is one of the most frequently played symphonies in the world and is also widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music.