Conference

May 7, 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s great academy in the Kärntnertortheater, where the Ninth Symphony was premiered on a program with the overture to "Die Weihe des Hauses" and three movements from the "Missa solemnis". To mark this anniversary, the Research Center Beethoven Archive is organizing an international conference together with Birgit Lodes (University of Vienna). International scholars will explore connections between these works (usually seen monolithically as Beethoven's last compositions in their respective genres) in the context of their stylistic and aesthetic conception, their cultural-political significance, and the challenge they present to interpreters and listeners, both then and now. A particular focus will be on new insights into the performance situation, room acoustics, listener perspectives, and reception outside of Europe.