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After a rapt silence, more than 5,000 people in the Royal Albert Hall erupted into applause reported to have lasted up to half an hour.

Barenboim, the 70-year-old conductor of the Staatskepelle Berlin orchestra, was so surprised he stood to make an impromptu speech.

He told an audience: "What you went through with us, this is something I never dreamed of and I never thought it was so possible, because the communion between us, the musicians, and you, the public, depends not just on us but also on you.

"And you have brought so much silence."

He added: "It is not a joke. You listened so quietly and so wonderfully that we really stand in awe in front of you."

He has conducted the entire Ring cycle at this year's BBC Proms, receiving a five star review from the Telegraph for the final performance, Götterdämmerung.

Critic John Allison called the concert "overwhelming", adding : "Fittingly, in an impromptu speech at the end of this long evening, the conductor Daniel Barenboim paid tribute to the spirit of the Prommers, who he said had helped to ensure genuine musical communion."

It is the first time the ten-hour Ring cycle has been performed in full at the BBC Proms, marking the bicentenary of Wagner's birth.