Konrad Adenauer and music

In 2026, Konrad Adenauer, the first Federal Chancellor, would have turned 150. He spent the last 30 years of his life in Bad Honnef-Rhöndorf, just under 20 km south of Bonn. This September, Beethovenfest will fill the estate with music – an opportunity for Claudia Waibel of the Stiftung Bundeskanzler-Adenauer-Haus to explore the founding Chancellor’s musical side.

In 1937, Adenauer had a new house built in Rhöndorf for himself and his family and laid out the extensive garden overlooking the Rhine himself. In his private rooms, numerous mementoes and furnishings tell stories about the life and work of the first Federal Chancellor, a committed European, a private individual and a music lover.

Immediately on the right-hand side as you enter the foyer, the guided tour takes you into what is known as the »music room«. In the early years after the family moved into their new home in Rhöndorf, Adenauer’s second wife, Gussie, would regularly play music here together with the family’s youngest children. 

For a long time, this room also housed a Phonola – a mechanical self-playing piano with music rolls, which is now on display at a musical automaton museum in Bruchsal. 

Before the rise of the National Socialists, when Konrad Adenauer served as Mayor of Cologne from 1917 to 1933, the Adenauer family regularly hosted musical evenings at home. At evening gatherings with extended family, friends and neighbours, they would make music together in their large house in Cologne-Lindenthal. Gussie Adenauer was a talented violinist. The children were also encouraged to learn an instrument.

The living room is right next door. The large music cabinet in the centre of the room is particularly striking. After busy days at work, Adenauer would put on records and tapes to listen to classical music and relax – the WDR even made special recordings of radio concerts for him. The Chancellor was »utterly delighted by the reproduction of both dark and light tones and all the subtleties of nuance« produced by the modern device.

Music played a major role in Adenauer’s daily life – it served as a way for him to unwind during his lunch break or in the evening. He favoured sacred music, folk songs, marching music and, above all, classical music – including Haydn, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Schubert and Mozart.

 Often, his choice of composer was an indicator of Adenauer’s state of mind. Hannelore Siegel, his secretary, recalled: »At lunchtime, there was always classical music. It was a moment of calm. And for us, it was a sign – depending on which music he chose – of what mood he was in. When it was Haydn, Mozart or Schubert, we were all quite content just listening to them through the keyhole.« The situation was different with other composers. Adenauer himself stated: »I listen to Tchaikovsky when I’m agitated; it stimulates me even further.« 

As well as instrumental music, he appreciated male voice choirs such as those of the Schubertbund. It wasn’t just the choice of songs that mattered, but also the spirit behind them: »…the people who sing in a male voice choir are still people with heart, who don’t just talk politics…«.

It is not just the house itself that is worth a visit. It is surrounded by a magnificent garden: fragrant roses and Mediterranean sculptures line the picturesque garden paths. From here, the view stretches out towards the Drachenfels. Adenauer wrote his memoirs in the pavilion; his boccia court lies above it. Statues commemorate the 1955 trip to Moscow, which marked the return of the last prisoners of war, as well as Adenauer’s and de Gaulle’s contributions to Franco-German reconciliation.

The exhibition building, situated below the estate, explores the history of the Sudeten German violin makers from the Czech Republic who found a new home in Bubenreuth near Erlangen in the immediate post-war period. The displaced instrument makers, whose integration was a particular concern of Adenauer’s, presented him with a master violin in 1957. A violin from Bubenreuth is on display in Rhöndorf today.

One section of the exhibition is dedicated to Adenauer’s love of literature, the visual arts and music. He had a special connection to Ludwig van Beethoven – in a letter, he described »Goethe, Beethoven, Rembrandt« as the triad of high culture. In 1959, Adenauer sponsored the first Beethoven stamp, attended Beethovenfest in Bonn on numerous occasions and celebrated his 90th birthday at the Beethovenhalle in 1966. 

And so the 150th birthday of the first Federal Chancellor is now also being marked with music. The Adenauerhaus invites visitors to a talk on the significance of music for the Chancellor. On Open Monuments Day, the Beethoven Talents 2026 will present a varied programme of chamber music across the entire grounds of the Adenauer House. Adenauer would certainly have been delighted, as they have drawn inspiration from his record collection.