Beethoven’s Fifth intro served as Allied code during World War II

Call it fate. One of classical music’s most famous opening passages serendipitously became an unlikely rallying cry against an evil regime.

During World War II, the Allies used the iconic first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (“da-da-da-dum”) as an acoustic cipher because in Morse Code, the work’s rhythmic pattern corresponds exactly to the letter “V” (dot-dot-dot-dash), which signifies “victory.”

The practice got an assist from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who frequently was photographed flashing the “V for Victory" sign. Then the British Broadcasting Corp. adopted the motif as an identifier. Before almost every wartime news broadcast to occupied Europe, the BBC would play a recording of the opening bars of the Fifth, pounded out on the timpani, serving as a subtle but powerful symbol of hope.

Over in Belgium, resistance leader Victor de Laveleye encouraged citizens to scrawl the letter “V” on walls as a sign of solidarity. Thus, the Fifth was quickly adopted as a clandestine audio as well as a visual rallying cry. Across occupied Europe, people hummed and whistled the intro; in Britain, the V made its way onto badges and other items. And so the “V for Victory” sign became a symbol of resistance against the Nazi regime.

As part of its Beethoven: The Eternal Original programming, which marks the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform Beethoven’s Fifth in concerts Nov. 5-8 under Marek Janowski.

The sequence is best described as a four-note motive — commonly known as the fate motive. It creates a dramatic and recognizable theme that connects the entire symphony. It forms the heart of the entire work, driving its tension, development and eventual triumph.

The intro got its name from Beethoven’s first biographer, Anton Schindler, who wrote that the composer thought the four notes represented “fate knocking at the door” — leading the theme to be known as the fate motive (or Schicksals-Motiv in German).

Then as now, the Fifth is widely regarded as symbolizing a musical triumph over adversity. Beginning in the dark, stormy key of C minor, the work eventually resolves into a blazing, triumphant C major in the final movement. Da-da-da-dum!

Or as Beethoven himself once declared of his encroaching deafness: “I will take fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.”