Opening speech 2026 by Steven Walter

On hospitality and home

A man stands at a podium addressing an audience. The room is paneled in wood with warm lighting.
Steven Walter speaks at the Opening Concert Beethovenfest Bonn 2026 © Nekame Klasohm

Back ›home‹ to the Beethovenhalle: in his speech at the opening concert of the 2026 Beethovenfest, Artistic Director Steven Walter welcomed the audience to a place of »optimistic community«. Read the full opening address here.

›Home‹ seems to be both the most natural and the most complicated thing we Germans can feel. Simple, because everyone has a home and can describe it even from afar, just as Beethoven wrote to his childhood friend from Bonn, Franz Wegeler: »The beautiful region where I first saw the light of day is still as beautiful and clear before my eyes as it was when I left you; in short, I shall regard the time when I can see you again and greet our Father Rhine as one of the happiest moments of my life.«

Complicated, because in that very same year, 1801, the early Romantic Novalis posed the quintessential Romantic question in his novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen: »Where are we going, then?« And his answer: »Always home.« Romanticism, shaped in the arts by Beethoven and Novalis and mystically and iconically situated in the region upstream from here along the Rhine, describes an insatiable longing, a restlessness and a sense of German identity that is at once nostalgic and forward-looking. A complex that has given rise to much great art, but in the 20th century also to civilisational catastrophes, and which to this day underpins a concept of ›home‹ that is, at the very least, ambivalent.

Despite all its national ambivalence, Germany has, after all, often been able to take refuge in music – and with great success. And I would argue that, in cultural life today, many of the tensions in this regard – which are once again being exploited by low-brow populist forces – could be resolved. For ›home‹ is a secondary concept, always rooted in the local context – where people invite one another in and share experiences. A sense of home only truly emerges when combined with good hospitality. In this regard, we can learn a great deal from other cultures. »The guest is the soul of the house,« goes a proverb from Georgia, a country we are focusing on a great deal this year.

  • A densely packed auditorium with people attentively attending an event. Various age groups are present, dressed in formal attire.
  • View into the filled foyer of the Beethovenhalle Bonn.
  • People at an exhibition opening in a modern space. They are conversing and viewing artworks displayed on the walls.

This applies in particular, however, to music, which always thrives on the relationship between host and guest. So, naturally, you – our esteemed audience – are also the soul of this house, which we, as Beethovenfest, are once again able to call home after ten years of renovation. Ever since 1845, when a temporary hall was erected on a green field for the first Beethovenfest, the Beethovenhalle has been an indispensable anchor as the home of our festival.

This region and this city are so endearing, above all, because they are deeply loved by the people who live here. The ancient Greeks had a beautiful word for this: topophilia – love of place. Nowhere have I encountered more love for a place than here in the Rhineland; not even dilapidated bridges or any crises can change that. For, as we know, love is irrational – but it is also contagious, spreading virally in upward spirals, and is inclusive and embracing. We also wish to bestow this irrational love, in the form of excellent hospitality, upon the Beethovenhalle and, in particular, our guests, by opening up this venue to the wider community far beyond the concerts themselves. It seems to us that, in this day and age, a warm welcome, personal encounters and a thoroughly convivial evening combined with a profoundly moving artistic experience are the very essence of culture.

Over the next four weeks, we will not only be exploring this feeling, but also shedding light on the theme in a rich and multifaceted way through music: with the musical homelands that our artists bring with them from all over the world; with music that tells of the loss of home, exile and flight; with reflections on the issue of homelessness – and with plenty of topophilia. We invite all people and stories here to the Beethovenhalle and look forward to continuing to visit numerous venues and locations throughout Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg district through music. Everyone and everything is sometimes the host, sometimes the guest. Society is – fundamentally – the sharing of space.

We hope that, through this festival, we will not only experience countless magical musical moments, but also be able to share the feeling of creating, amidst all the turmoil in the world, a place and a time for encounter and for open, creative and optimistic community. This is – we believe – the most effective and important contribution that culture, as a democratic and civil society force, has to offer today.

  • Several people sit and chat in an elegant room with wooden floors and large windows, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
  • People gather in a brightly lit, modern event space with stairs and large windows. Hanging lamps illuminate the area.
  • People stand at a bar or café counter. Menu boards are visible on the wall behind the counter.
  • An orchestra performs in a concert hall under the direction of a conductor.
Article by Steven Walter