At last, the Beethovenfest can once again welcome visitors back to its home at the Beethovenhalle. During the long renovation period, however, a great deal of creativity was required! Artistic Director Steven Walter put this into practice when he invited artists to his idyllic tiny house in the Siegtal valley. In 2023, a video series featuring house concerts and discussions was produced there for ARD Kultur. We have compiled the entire playlist here.
Concerts at home of the Artistic Director
#Recap: Tiny House Concerts
A pictoresque Tiny House in the countryside, just east of Bonn. It belongs to Steven Walter, the artistic director of the Beethovenfest.
Together with co-presenter Coco Elane, he invited five musicians who will be performing at this year's Beethovenfest, to the idyllic little house for personal conversations, cooking together – and of course exclusive intimate concerts, accompanied by a camera crew.
All episodes are also available at the ARD-Mediathek.
The line-up included the Greek pianist Danae Dörken, who spoke about her own festival on Lesbos and performed works by Manolis Kalomiris, Johannes Brahms and Manuel de Falla.
Cellist Isang Enders talks about the demands and pressures of being the youngest principal cellist with the Dresden Staatskapelle. He plays his cello in the wooden cottage, performing works by Bach and Hans Werner Henze.
Kalle Kalima takes to the wonderful terrace of the Tiny House with his electric guitar – playing Goodbye Pork Pie Head by jazz legend Charles Mingus. He demonstrates his penchant for crossover improvisation between jazz and classical music with a piece by Henry Purcell.
Soprano Anna-Lena Elbert performs a colourful mix of songs in the Tiny House, accompanied at times by viol player Friederike Heumann. She also shares what it feels like to work with one’s own body.
The pianist Kai Schumacher performs his own compositions on the keys and inner workings of the piano. In addition, artistic director Steven Walter himself makes a guest appearance on the cello.