Celebrating Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year

The celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday this year has reached a crescendo in Germany, and here we take a look at the efforts to honour the musical legacy of this maverick composer and pianist, born in Bonn on December 16, 1770.

We meet concert pianists putting a new spin on Beethoven’s work. Susanne Kessel, for one, put out a call to composers for 250 new piano pieces inspired by Beethoven and is now in the midst of performing them. Elsewhere, the duo known as Pianotainment uses humour and serious talent to make Beethoven’s works accessible to all. The video concludes with a visit to a museum full of self-playing musical instruments… some of them even playing Beethoven!

The video was made possible by the German National Tourism Board and BTHVN2020: https://www.germany.travel/beethoven2020

View the original video here.

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