The founding of the Berliner Philharmoniker on the first of May in 1882, is annually celebrated with a concert in an European city of cultural significance. In 2014 the EUROPAKONZERT took again place in Berlin. The concert was conducted by a man who has been associated with the Berliner Philharmoniker for 50 years: Daniel Barenboim. Otto Nicolais The Merry Wives of Windsor is based on William Shakespeares comedy of the same name, and its lively overture has long since secured a place on the concert stage. Also inspired by a Shakespearean comedy hero is Edward Elgars symphonic study Falstaff. We then turn from comedy to the tragic twists of fate: The Fifth Symphony of Piotr Tchaikovsky is characterized by a sombre main theme that for the Russian composer symbolizes a complete resignation before fate, which is the same as the inscrutable predestination of fate.