The anniversary year at Haus der Musik
In 2020 the world will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth. Haus der Musik will honour the great composer with a diverse programme throughout 2020.
A whole year dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven
Visitors can meet the great composer throughout the whole year in the permanent exhibition of the sound museum, the centrepiece being his very own room on the third floor: info terminals provide information about Beethoven’s life and work, in the room you can listen to his most famous compositions like the 9th Symphony, Missa Solemnis or the Moonlight Sonata. Historic exhibits include a life and a death mask, autographs and Fidelio stage designs, an original entrance door to his last appartment and an ear trumpet station which powerfully demonstrates Beehoven’s gradual loss of hearing. A wall chart addresses Beethoven’s frequent change of residence, the famous composer moved 68 times in his life, possibly due to his difficult personality and various health concerns.
Special exhibition in the inner courtyard
Two additional special exhibitions in the inner courtyard will also deal with the phenomena Beethoven. Hungarian sculptor Professor Marton Barabas (born 1952) will pay tribute to Beethoven’s comprehensive piano works in his special exhibition (May – August 2020). Barabas uses inner components and actions of unusable pianos of the 19th and 20th century to turn them into sculputres and bas-relief.
Bernstein’s Beethoven
In cooperation with the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the second special exhibtion in autumn (September 2020 – January 2021) will also be dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven and his musical work.
Inside Beethoven! – The Walk-In Ensemble
Sound installation in June and July 2020
The project “Inside Beethoven” shows visitors what being part of a music ensemble feels and sounds like. Visitors have the opportunity to enter a room that has been set up as a stage and can either take the spot of the ensemble director or of each musician while listening to them play real close. This way Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat major, Opus 20 can literally “be walked through” (as the winds and strings version as well as Beethoven’s own trio version for piano, clarinet and cello op. 38). The score can be followed on digital music stands. Elaborate technology, music electronics, instrumentalists and sound editors from Detmold University of Music, as well as a matching stage design, have led to this phenomenal complete art of work which will be featured on the sound museum’s third floor (“The Great Composers”).
“Beethoven Pastoral Project”
The BEETHOVEN PASTORAL PROJECT invites artists from all over the world to share their own vision of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Pastorale” Sonata and start a global network that will perform “its Pastorale” on Earth Day (April 22, 2020) to stand up for nature, sustainability and environmental protection and against climate change.
Haus der Musik will also take part in this impressive project during the Beethoven anniversary year.
In cooperation with:
Beethoven Jubiläums Gesellschaft Bonn
Koordinationsbüro der Stadt Wien
WienBeethoven2020
20 years Haus der Musik. The sound museum celebrates its birthday.
For Haus der Musik’s 20th birthday on June 15, 2020, numerous events are being planned, including classical concerts and a diverse music educational programme, e.g. a “Beethoven Path” which will lead through the whole museum and topic-specific guided tours for children and adults.
Furthermore, the sound museum will shine in new splendour as new installations will be implemented and a completely remastered Virtual Conductor will make its grand appearance.
