Beethovenfest: Investing In Youth
‘True art has a mind of its own. It cannot be forced into flattering moulds.'
True art has a mind of its own. It cannot be forced into flattering moulds.' - Beethoven, 1820. The inauguration of the Beethovenfest took place in 1845, and despite numerous challenges to its survival, it is celebrated today richer and more fervently than ever before. The four week yearly festival is a ubiquitous force which engulfs you, instilling within you a sense of tremendous occasion. The city is awash with tangerine orange flags and posters promoting its most famous of sons and most prized cultural legacy. The composers stern, masterful portrait is emblazoned on just about every street corner and if you listen closely enough, you can almost hear his symphony rhythm pulsate in the heartbeat of the city walls. Classical music is everything here its in their blood. The Art has a Mind of its Own theme this year spoke volumes in its craving to push the boundaries of what is considered conventional, instead focussing on the global context of the composers work and allowing musicians to pursue their own path, free from the constraints of what has been done before. This festival is not about harking back to times gone, it is about placing Beethoven's music in entirely new contexts and allowing it to flourish. 74,000 people attended 174 events featured across the festival, with more than 2,000 artists contributing. Not only has the festival ushered in a new era of experimentation, but so too one of unquestionable success. Ilona Schmiel, Managing and Artistic Director of Beethovenfest Bonn, speaks about the event with such unrelenting enthusiasm and excitement its clear that like her colleagues, this is the culmination of a years work the embodiment of what they love the most. To be part of a festival which encapsulates their most treasured of indulgences is clearly an honour. What is even more impressive, is her aspirations to reach out to Germanys youth, to ensure that the flaming legacy of Beethovens music does not extinguish any time soon. We reached nearly 5,000 young people with the festival's Young Beethovenfest programme which aims to help teenagers gain experience and to open their minds, she says. They help to shape the festival and have left a lasting impression not only with us, but with many of the artists. We have heard from many artists who like Beethoven push the boundaries and have minds of their own: Martin Grubinger, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Lisa Batiashvili, Isabelle Faust, András Schiff, Daniel Hope, the Borodin Quartet and Kit Armstrong to name but a few. We invest in lots of programmes before pieces are premiered here and do lots of work in schools to guide children through the music and introduce them to the concepts of Beethovens music. This music is in Germans blood its important that we carry that on. The audiences form a bond with the orchestra and that is a beautiful thing. And that truly is something which you find inescapable at the Beethoven Hall whether you intend to or not, you cannot help but be drawn into the power and influence of the performance. Your eyes dart around the orchestra - from those relaxed and calm in their playing; to those dramatically pounding at their instrument, an extension of an innermost passion for the music they play. Not only do you feel connected with the music of the past genius, but so too with the sheer energy with which this modern day ensemble performs it. Fewer have more energy than Esa-Pekka Salonen, a conductor so highly sought after that it is a privilege to watch him at work. His demanding, intense actions seem to pound through every single note of each concerto movement - it's all you can do not to fix your gaze upon his masterful, domineering performance. And it is a performance. He may not have an instrument, but he is the loudest person in the entire hall, without so much as making a sound. For Ilona, the festival is all about embracing that passion and instilling it with the hearts of Germany's youth. This years motto has much to do with youth and investment in the future we try always to integrate youth and young people," she says. Not only do we have youth orchestras, but we understand that not every young person will want to play an instrument. Even so, they can still get an education through music and be involved behind the scenes. Our Student Manager Programme allows young people to manage concerts and work with us for eight months. We work with them one-on-one and theyre the ones who present ideas to the CEOs of major business sponsors they love it. They love the challenge and they seem to be able to raise in ten minutes ten times the amount of money I could raise because they are so moved and touched by these confident young people. My idea isnt that they will all one day become cultural managers, but they will sit in high business or political positions and be in a position to reinvest back in the culture that invested time and belief in them. The idea is that they understand how important it is that the private sector invest in culture and that they know it is vital that children are given access at an early stage to what we are doing. They end up feeling responsible for culture and become one with it. Living in such a rich society, they know that they have to give something back this is what Beethovenfest is all about. Beethoven's legacy is hard to escape in this fiercely proud city - so much so that it's difficult to imagine it without him. And thanks to the work the festival puts in - the city can rest assured that it won't ever have to do without its proud cultural icon.