Sasha Waltz: Beethoven 7

In Beethoven 7, Sasha Waltz, together with an ensemble of 14 dancers, explores Ludwig van Beethoven’s complete Symphony No. 7. This remarkable piece of music, composed in 1812 when the composer was already losing his hearing, resonates with the issues of his time that still matter to us today: the failure of a revolution, the (forced) return to old orders – and the accompanying loss of freedom and prospects for the future.

Back in June 2021, as part of the »With Beethoven through Europe« Beethoven Day programme on the European cultural channel ARTE, Sasha Waltz had already created a choreography to two movements of the Seventh Symphony at the ancient temple site of Delphi. Since then, this music has stayed with her.

In 1812, Beethoven noted the following question in his diary: »[I]s the genuine, true human being / a slave to his surroundings or free?«, and – personally disillusioned – witnessed the political ideal of freedom fail between the French Revolution and the European Restoration. At the same time, his work is a defining expression of an aesthetic ideal of artistic freedom. For Sasha Waltz, this serves as a starting point and a playground for her boundless movement language.

In the first half of the evening, Sasha Waltz presents a new work that draws on Beethoven 7.