Exhibitions

At this year's Beethovenfest, the Orchestre National de France will perform all nine of Beethoven's symphonies under the direction of Kurt Masur, Chairman of the Beethoven-Haus. To mark the occasion, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn is showing the special exhibition "From the 0th to the 10th - Paths to Beethoven's Symphonies". The exhibition presents very different perspectives on these important works.

Two compositional projects that Beethoven did not pursue further, but which are nevertheless not insignificant, namely the 0th and 10th symphonies, are illustrated by original sketches and drafts. After all, the composer adopted the theme of the first movement of the 0th for the finale of his 1st Symphony. Well-known examples such as the motto of the 5th and the finale of the 8th symphony are used to thematise Beethoven's compositional work, his extensive refinement up to the final completion of a work in the form we know today. Exhibits such as layout plans for orchestras and choirs illustrate the conducting practice of the time; contemporary depictions of the most important Viennese concert halls reflect the development of a bourgeois musical life at the time, as it is commonplace today. However, in times before CDs and mp3 players and the existence of symphony orchestras in every major city, the symphonies were mainly performed in arrangements for chamber music or piano, mostly by well-known composers such as Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny or Johann Nepomuk Hummel.

One of Franz Liszt's "piano transcriptions", which place the highest demands on pianists, is also on display. The problem of the "correct" tempi for Beethoven's symphonies - the composer himself specified metronome markings - is examined, as are the mercantile aspects of this genre. In addition to public concerts, the proceeds of which benefited Beethoven himself, the high publisher's fees are primarily relevant here. The verified copy of the 7th Symphony by Anton Diabelli, author of the theme of the variations named after him and at the time still an employee of the Steiner publishing house, shows the usual, by today's standards lengthy procedure leading up to the original edition of a work without a photocopier and printer. On public display for the first time are several new acquisitions, such as the original stitched, i.e. "virgin" part sets of the 7th Symphony in its first edition. However, particularly high-calibre treasures from the collection will not be withheld from the public either. The complete autograph score of the 6th Symphony "Pastorale" can be admired, as can sketches for the 9th Symphony. Further, very different perspectives on the symphonies are presented by selected works from the visual arts. The spectrum ranges from well-known monuments to Moritz von Schwind and modern realisations by the Argentinian-born Norberto Iera. 

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