Bonn reopens Beethoven House. Concerthall stays stuck
mainAfter a spruce-up costing 3.8 million euros, the house where Beethoven was born is now reopened to visitors.
The Bonn concerthall, on the other hand, was due to be replaced a decade ago. When the new hall was vetoed, the wretched 1959 structure was scheduled for an expensive overhaul.
Now that plan, too, has been kicked down the road.
No decision will be made before 2024.
I’m starting to see why Beethoven got the hell out of Bonn.
In Beethoven’s time, Bonn was the most enlightened little state of the German lands, due to the Elector, the youngest brother of emperor Joseph II of Austria. This young man introduced liberalization according to the Enlightenment to all the institutions (inspired by his brother). Bonn was a hub of modern ideas where the French writers of the age were read with great curiosity. That Beethoven went to Vienna was because that was a much bigger city with an incomparable, busy music life. But he would never have had the inspiring mental bagage if he had not grown-up in Bonn.
All over the world the arts are subject to “downsizing” by people who are hostile to it. Classical music is no exception, nor is Bonn or Germany. Let’s be grateful that the Beethoven house, newly rennovated, is open for his 250th anniversary celebrations.
Contrary to what your article implies, there is no shortage of flights between Pittsburgh and Paris (or Europe in general).
Cheapflights shows service from British Airways, KLM, Air France, United, Iberia, American, Finnair, SAS and many others. There appears to be one stop: no problemo. Air France has only 6 cities in North America with direct flights to Paris.
Pittsburgh has a metro population of almost 2.5 million.
Pittsburgh International Airport’s website has a map of its nonstop destinations (https://www.flypittsburgh.com/flights/nonstop-destinations) and the only European cities on it are London (British Airways, year-round) and Frankfurt (Condor, summer only).
But yes, with one change of plane you can fly from Pittsburgh to many, many places; it’s served by nonstops to and from all of the US’s major international hub airports.
The European airlines you saw listed are doing code-shares with a U.S. partner, likely American, United, or Delta.
-“The Bonn concerthall, on the other hand, was due to be replaced a decade ago. When the new hall was vetoed, the wretched 1959 structure was scheduled for an expensive overhaul.
Now that plan, too, has been kicked down the road.
No decision will be made before 2024.”
I believe you misunderstood, Norman. The decision about the renovation has already been made and the work has already started. Ever new delays and cost-overruns (surprise, surprise) are the issue.
While the renovation was supposed to be finished next year, the estimate now is that the ongoing work won’t be complete for another ~3-4 years, with the hall’s reopening now rescheduled for the second half of 2024.
https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/rheinland/endloser-aerger-beethovenhalle-100.html
I guess Bonn, suffering from ‘former capital city-neurosis’, wasn’t about to be outdone by Berlin and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden renovation sh*tshow 😉
So, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen has decide to bring Beethoven home in November 2020 – to their home!
Sold out? Any bets?
Dat, dat, dat darf (eigentlich nicht sein).
I can’t believe my eyes! Beethoven’s Sonata, Op. 6.
Unmistakable.