A metronomic anniversary celebration

The German town of Regensburg is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its most inventive son, the maker of the metronome, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel.

He is already the subject of a Regensburg opera, Der Maschinist.

Now he has an exhibition:
From August 13th to November 6th, the exhibition “Human Music Machine: Johann Nepomuk Mälzel (1772-1838)” will take place in the Historical Museum of the City of Regensburg. Curated in cooperation with the University’s Institute for Musicology, mechanical musical instruments and apparatus are presented that have a direct or ideal connection with Mälzel. One of the oldest surviving metronomes, machine pictures from the Mälzel workshop in Regensburg, as well as replicas of a Beethoven ear trumpet and a speaking machine can be seen. At the opening on August 12 (6:00 p.m.), György Ligeti’s legendary “Poème symphonique” for 100 metronomes will be heard. A symposium with lectures will be held at the University of Regensburg on November 4thand an evening concert for Mälzel’s 250th birthday.