Martha Bijlsma

»I wanted to get creative with music from a pretty early age on. I have always danced and doing interdisciplinary things has come to me so naturally. Even during university, I always wanted to play New music. I always had this curiosity: To look for something I did not know yet, music or sounds or opportunities.« – Martha Bijlsma

The cellist Martha Bijlsma, a Fellowship artist of the Beethovenfest 2026, has dedicated herself to two special projects. With the pieces Don’t Mention the War and a fascinating interpretation of Beethoven’s »Eroica«, audiences can listen to her at three different concerts, and she brings a variety of new approaches and a readiness to experiment with her.

The interdisciplinary Don’t Mention the War, which picks up Martha’s own family history in the context of the Shoah and reappraises the consequences this generation-spanning trauma and history have, is a personally significant project for her. For the first time, she intensively deals with this topic through music and brings together different levels of storytelling at the same time. Audiences can also be excited for an innovative and curious approach with the »Eroica« as played by the Flex Ensemble: Here, a symphony becomes electronically surrounded chamber music, together with an energetic Ouverture and Encore. 

About these pieces, her creative process and what music means to her, Martha Bijlsma talks to Steven Walter in this new episode of bee.podcast.

bee.podcast is the Beethovenfest Bonn’s talk podcast. Here, we invite guests from the worlds of music, culture and society to discuss current artistic projects and contemporary issues with us.