Beethoven in Bonn - Celebrating Beethoven's music in his birthplace

Beethoven’s symphonies form a major cornerstone of the entire orchestral repertoire. He was particularly attracted to the genre and regarded it as the highest form of instrumental music. Of his nine symphonies and the beginnings of a tenth, we shall hear four, including the ground-breaking Eroica, originally intended to celebrate Napoleon. It transformed instrumental music almost as thoroughly as Napoleon transformed European politics.

In addition, we shall hear three of Beethoven’s concertos, including his Triple Concerto for violin, cello, and piano – the only one of its kind – plus three of his piano sonatas, including the dramatic Pathétique. The concerts will also contain music by several other composers, notably some preludes and fugues from J.S. Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier, which Beethoven so much admired.

Bonn was the seat of the Prince-Archbishops of Cologne, ex-officio one of the eight Electors of the Holy Roman Empire and temporal ruler of one of the weightier principalities in the German-speaking lands. Its location on the Rhine, Europe’s great thoroughfare, and not far from France and the Netherlands helped to ensure that it was no cultural backwater. During Beethoven’s youth the electoral court maintained a corps of musicians which ranked with the largest of such establishments – larger than those, for example, in Salzburg or Eszterháza.

Beethoven’s father and grandfather had been among their number, and Beethoven himself may well have been content to have settled into lifelong electoral service, his Olympian talents nurtured by the security of a salaried existence. But the French Revolution and subsequent conquest of the Rhineland eliminated that possibility. The study visit he made to Vienna at the age of 22 became a lifelong exile. Maybe distance made the heart grow fonder, but his letters suggest he had the warmest memories of his home town and enduring affection for his Bonn friends and some (not all) of his family.

The annual International Beethoven Festival is a major event worthy of the composer’s native city, showcasing world-class orchestras and artists from around the globe.