Ludwigsburg Festival celebrates Beethoven

32 single films and 9 symphonies

With a revival of the »Pixelsinfonie« and the ARTE event »Europa feiert Beethoven« the Ludwigsburg Festival starts the month of June with a Beethoven Weekend. On World Environment Day the video installation by Michael Rauter based on the »Pastorale« reminds us of the relationship between humans and nature in 32 individual films. In the performance of all symphonies from nine European countries, the channel ARTE will take up Beethoven’s message of international understanding on Sunday.

To kick off June, the Ludwigsburg Festival invites you to a special Beethoven Weekend: with a revived »Pixelsinfonie« and a Beethoven marathon on ARTE. This promises not only musical highlights, but also interesting discourses on the great themes of our time. After all, Beethoven’s focus is always on the human being.

On World Environment Day, it is once again the »Pastorale«, which builds a bridge between humans and nature. As already shown in our »Fest Spiel Ouvertüre«, the »Pixel Symphony«, however, seeks a completely different approach to the work. In a video-installation of 32 simultaneously running single films blur the familiar sounds of the symphony with Michael Rauter’s progressive composition. With no option of fast-forwarding or rewinding the online installation by Peter Ulrich focuses instead on the full concentration on the 100-minute audiovisual experience. The concept developed in 2020 is at the same time indispensably tied to the Corona situation. Thus Rauter noted that the pandemic situation became the »content of the project«: »The virus has shown us, to the maximum, that the separation between humans and nature is an illusory notion.« Thus, the play becomes »an examination with ourselves.«

But it’s not just the »Pastorale« that speaks directly to the human condition. Beethoven’s other works also bear witness to this. His nine symphonies tell of the darkest hours of human behaviour, but also construct the utopia of a united world under powerful orchestral climaxes. This ideal is to be expressed with »Europa feiert Beethoven«: From nine different European countries, all nine symphonies will be performed in succession. This major event will be broadcast on ARTE and on our Digital Stage. Last but not least, you can look forward to the performance of the 7th symphony from Greece with Teodor Currentzis and his orchestra musicAeterna. Enriched by a dance choreography by Sasha Waltz, the performance already sets the mood for the rest of the season: With »Dialoge 2021 Ludwigsburg«, Waltz will also be performing at the festival this year.