A Thousand Lives – Beethoven's Legacy

"oh, how beautiful it would be to live life a thousand times over," Beethoven wrote to his friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler in Bonn in November 1801. Unfortunately, he was never to fulfil that wish: Beethoven died in Vienna on 26 March 1827. But his music lives on, continuing to fascinate both as artist and person.

"For the 200th anniversary of his death, we want to present Beethoven in all his vitality. Under the banner BTHVN2027, we will mark the occasion with a wide-ranging programme of exemplary, innovative and inspiring projects designed to encourage audiences to engage more deeply with the composer from Bonn," says Malte Boecker, Director of Beethoven-Haus. The anniversary programme is receiving financial support from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Special exhibitions

Until 5 April 2027, the Beethoven-Haus Museum is presenting Beethoven by Warhol, a spectacular special exhibition held under the patronage of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Shortly before his unexpected death in 1987, Andy Warhol created the iconic portraits that helped shape the image of Beethoven in the twentieth century. Featuring hundreds of objects, some of which have never been exhibited, the show explores the origins of Warhol’s print series and its close links with the Beethoven-Haus collection.

The exhibition will be followed by Patient Beethoven (26 May – 4 October 2027). Beethoven suffered from numerous ailments throughout his life, some of which ultimately contributed to his death. The exhibition examines his individual medical conditions and introduces the physicians who treated him, many of whom were leading figures in the medicine of their day. Treatments ranged from Danube baths and drinking cures to almond-oil ear drops and cotton wool soaked in horseradish, as well as the pioneering technique of electrotherapy. These remedies also shed light on Beethoven's interest in technological innovation. The exhibition will also explore the research that led to the analysis of Beethoven's genome.

Anna Handler: Artist in Residence for the 2026/27 season

The Beethoven-Haus is delighted to welcome the versatile pianist, chamber musician and conductor Anna Handler as Artist in Residence for its anniversary season. Following her appointment as Conductor in Residence of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she has emerged as one of the most promising musicians of her generation.

Together with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Handler will perform the Good Friday Concert on the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's death, 26 March 2027, at the Beethovenhalle Studio in Bonn. She will also appear before Bonn audiences as a pianist and chamber musician in two further concerts in the Beethoven-Haus Chamber Music Hall, on 13 December 2026 and 16 April 2027.

Special concert projects for BTHVN2027

Daniel Hope, President of Beethoven-Haus, will be joined in Bonn by distinguished honorary members, including Sir András Schiff and Andreas Staier, as well as other musicians with close ties to the institution. Together, they will present a series of special concerts celebrating Beethoven and his legacy.

Under the title TriBute to Beethoven, Daniel Hope has devised a special edition of the BTHVN WOCHE Chamber Music Festival, taking place from 18 to 20 March 2027. The festival will also be part of the Beethovenfest's Beethoven Spring programme. https://www.beethovenfest.de/de/beethoven-fruehling.

"Two hundred years after Beethoven’s death, his music remains astonishingly alive: radical, uncompromising, tender and profoundly human. With BTHVN WOCHE 2027, we want to bring that power to life – from the most intimate chamber-music dialogue to the sweeping expansiveness of the Pastoral Symphony. Beethoven does not need to be reinvented; he needs to be rediscovered, time and again," says Daniel Hope.

Every concert in the festival has a special connection with the Beethoven-Haus collection, while the Beethoven masterpieces selected for the programme are among Hope’s personal favourites. The musical journey ranges from intimate chamber music to the grandeur of the orchestral repertoire.

The festival culminates on 20 March with an orchestral concert at the Beethovenhalle. Hope will perform Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Op. 56, alongside cellist Maximilian Hornung, pianist Marie Sophie Hauzel and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, of which he is also Artistic Director. The programme concludes with Beethoven’s celebrated Symphony No. 6, the Pastoral.

The Beethoven27 project, conceived by conductor and Beethoven specialist Jan Caeyers with pianist Kit Armstrong, explored 27 key works in 27 European cities. The project will conclude its chamber-music journey at Beethoven-Haus on 17 January 2027, with a programme devoted to Beethoven's Immortal Beloved.

On 10 April 2027, pianist Andreas Staier, an honorary member of the Beethoven-Haus association and a passionate explorer of historical sound, will invite together with violinist Daniel Sepec and cellist Roel Dieltiens, two longstanding musical colleagues, to a programme tracing the development of the piano trio and illuminating Beethoven’s musical roots.

The renowned Hungarian pianist Sir András Schiff, also an honorary member of Beethoven-Haus, has curated a concert series with two outstanding younger musicians: violinist Stephen Waarts and cellist Julia Hagen. Across eight summer evenings, from 24 June to 5 July 2027,
they will explore Beethoven’s chamber music for violin, cello and piano, including works for piano trio.

In early October 2027, the Beethovenfest Bonn will be followed almost immediately by an International Masterclass for Young Pianists, focusing on historical fortepianos. Provisionally scheduled for 4–7 October, the masterclass will be led by Olga Pashchenko, one of the leading specialists in these instruments. Public rehearsals are planned for 4–6 October, with a final concert by the participants on 7 October.

The masterclass will lead into a Fortepiano Festival, planned for 8–10 October. Renowned specialists in historical keyboard instruments will perform on four different historical fortepianos dating from Beethoven's era, presenting five concerts of solo and chamber music.

The masterclass and festival are also expected to feature a replica of Beethoven's final grand piano, a Graf built in 1826. The instrument is currently being constructed at the workshop of Chris Maene in Belgium.

The Beethoven-Haus anniversary year will culminate on 17 December 2027 with a major concert at Bonn's Beethovenhalle, marking the close of the celebrations. Further details of the special events scheduled from October 2027 onwards will be announced in due course.

Further information: www.beethoven.de

BTHVN2027: Anniversary Programme at a Glance

Special exhibitions

Beethoven by Warhol
Until 5 April 2027

Patient Beethoven
26 May – 4 October 2027

Museum opening hours
Wednesday to Monday, 10 am – 6 pm

Concerts marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's death

Listed in chronological order. Unless otherwise stated, concerts take place in the Chamber Music Hall at Beethoven-Haus.

17 January 2027, 6 pm
Beethoven27 – Beethoven's Immortal Beloved
A musical reading
Kit Armstrong, piano
Jan Caeyers, concept and narration

18–20 March 2027
BTHVN WOCHE Chamber Music Festival
TriBute to Beethoven
Artistic Director: Daniel Hope
Closing concert: 20 March 2027, Beethovenhalle, Bonn

26 March 2027 – 200th anniversary of Beethoven's death
Beethovenhalle Studio, Bonn 
Good Friday Concert
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Anna Handler, conductor and Artist in Residence

10 April 2027, 7.30 pm
Beethoven's Musical Roots
Daniel Sepec, violin
Roel Dieltiens, cello
Andreas Staier, piano

24 June – 5 July 2027 (eight evenings)
Sir András Schiff presents
Beethoven's chamber music for violin, cello and piano
Sir András Schiff, piano
Stephen Waarts, violin
Julia Hagen, cello

4–7 October 2027 (provisional dates)
International Beethoven Masterclass
A masterclass in music performed on historical fortepianos
with Olga Pashchenko
4–6 October: Public rehearsals, mornings and afternoons
7 October: Final concert by the participants

8–10 October 2027
Fortepiano Festival (in planning)
Five concerts featuring four different historical fortepianos from Beethoven's era,
with solo and chamber music performances
17 December 2027 (in planning)

Closing concert of the anniversary year (in planning)
Marking the anniversary of Beethoven's baptism day
Further information: www.beethoven.de

Photos of the artists can be downloaded here. They can also be sent to you on request.

Press release

Contact:
Ursula Timmer-Fontani  
Head of Corporate Communications
timmer-fontani@beethoven.de
Tel. +49 228 98175-16