This were our Talents 2025

Over the past few months, four string players and a pianist have become closely associated with the festival as Beethovenfest Talents, taking part in our new programme for emerging artists. This was an important step for them on the path to an international career, and a stroke of luck for the festival family.

Hailing from Germany, Turkey, South Korea and Great Britain, they study or studied in Berlin and Frankfurt and have achieved impressive success in competitions. Violinists Benjamin Günst and Louisa Staples, violist Eric Moon, cellist Anouchka Hack and pianist Lal Karaalioğlu were selected to develop as a group through coaching and joint chamber music performances, while also furthering their development as soloists. The new programme was made possible by the Romy Gohlke Foundation.

Our Beethovenfest Talents enriched numerous events throughout the year and introduced themselves in recitals at the festival itself. They have now become an integral part of Beethovenfest, taking part in everything from programme presentations and summer festivals organised by the Circle of Friends to the Telekom anniversary celebration and their grand finale evening in a high rise. They were pillars of the festival and won the hearts of the audience. We look back on this delightful first cohort.

9 May 2025: Programme presentation at Fabrik 45.

Several months before the start of the festival, the young musicians met for the first time and began preparing immediately for a joint performance. Alongside some of the current fellows, they formed the fast-paced show band for the programme presentation of Beethovenfest 2025. This event was geared towards the festival’s partners and sponsors, as well as the press.

As a string quartet, they performed a movement by Dmitri Shostakovich, whose work was a key part of the festival. They only had a few days to rehearse, but, as cellist Anouchka Hack noted, »We immediately realised: Wow, we work well together! This is really fun!«

27 April 2025: Programme presentation for the Beethovenfest Circle of Friends at Godesburg Castle

Just a few weeks earlier, the pianist Lal Karaalioğlu had given the Friends of Beethovenfest an inspiring programme presentation. Accompanying artistic director Steven Walter’s presentation with music by Beethoven and others, she won over her first fans in the audience.

July 2025: The Circle of Friends’ summer party at Burg Lede and the Telekom anniversary celebration at Remigius Church

As part of the summer party at Burg Lede, the Circle of Friends were treated to a charming chamber concert by the five musicians. Shortly afterwards, the whole of Bonn got to know the quintet too, as they performed on open-air stages and in the Remigius Church during Deutsche Telekom’s all-day anniversary celebration. Magenta beanbags provided welcome places to rest during the busy concert day.

3 September 2025, Historic Community Hall, Bad Godesberg

The Turkish pianist loves interdisciplinary work – in her studies at the Barenboim Said Academy in Berlin, she combines visual and musical arts in her own projects. In her solo programme at the festival, she presented exciting comparisons between male and female composers of the 19th century.

6 September 2025, Collegium Leoninum

Benjamin Günst performed his recital at the festival beneath the beautiful ribbed vault of the Collegium Leoninum. He is currently studying at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. He performed a selection of his favourite pieces from the repertoire, including Ravel’s Second Violin Sonata. Lovre Marušić, the second prize winner of the last Telekom Beethoven Competition, accompanied him.

9 September 2025, Augustinum

Sisters Anouchka and Katharina Hack are a power duo who enjoy organising entertaining mixed-programme concerts. In the distinctive Augustinum Bonn hall, they invited the audience to join them in a »sisterhood« and engaged in lively conversation with them, both from the stage and during the interval.

10 September 2025, Kreuzkirche

Eric Moon made his viola sing with a rich tone and powerful expression. Currently studying with Tabea Zimmermann in Frankfurt, the South Korean gave an after-work concert at the Kreuzkirche with an unusual partner instrument: Igor Klokov accompanied him on the guitar. Together, they performed arrangements ranging from Baroque music to Paganini and Franz Schubert’s »Winterreise«. The musicians made use of different positions in the room and listening angles.

17 September 2025, Namedy Castle

A medieval castle complete with moat, knight’s armour and a magnificent hall of mirrors – Louisa Staples gave her recital at Namedy. The British violinist is studying together with Benjamin Günst at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. Accompanied by the experienced pianist Boris Kusnezow, she played four dramatic and passionate works, including Leoš Janáček's tormented sonata.

20 September 2025, Design Offices Neuer Kanzlerplatz Bonn

At the end of the concert series, the musicians came together once again to perform as a chamber music ensemble. During the extravagant motto evening in the high-rise building, they performed in two formations: as a piano quintet with Lal Karaalioğlu, and as a string quintet with the renowned cellist Anastasia Kobekina. The programme featured Brahms’ piano quintet and Schubert’s string quintet. These popular Romantic pieces provided an exciting contrast to the rest of the evening’s programme, which took place across two floors and featured avant-garde and queer performances, as well as audience encounters. For the five talents, this was the culmination of an intense journey, and they were celebrated by the audience for it.

In the coming years, new cohorts of Beethovenfest Talents will continue to accompany the festival, and we hope to provide a platform for many more talented young musicians.