»We want to create joyful discoveries«

Steven Walter, Artistic Director of the Beethovenfest Bonn, opens up unexpected musical worlds to audiences through unique concert formats. In this interview, he explains the festival’s mega-event for 2026, »Home: The Long Concert Night«: a simultaneous performance across all halls in the Beethovenhalle, featuring the mix of music for which he is so well known.

In recent years at the Beethovenfest, you’ve always included a »Long Night« in the programme, at special venues such as the Post Tower and the high-rise on Neuer Kanzlerplatz. This year it’s taking place in the Beethovenhalle – what do you enjoy about this kind of concert evening? Do you see it a bit as your ›signature format‹ as artistic director?

Steven Walter: I’m interested in concert formats where the audience has greater autonomy. You can choose the programme yourself, and everyone embarks on a different journey through the evening. I find this freedom very exciting, because it’s not something you usually find at a classical concert, which tends to offer a pre-determined experience.

Based on your experience with these formats – what changes when listening to a ›wandering concert‹?

Being able to consciously choose a performance in a specific order fosters a new mindset, a different way of listening. Added to this is the element of surprise. You’re likely to stumble upon something you wouldn’t have expected. Last but not least, there’s also social potential in this: everyone has experienced something slightly different – you can discuss this, which creates yet another shared experience.

Is this also a strategy to make it easier for the audience to embrace something new?

Yes, definitely. We do everything we can to facilitate happy discoveries. There’s so much incredibly brilliant music of all kinds that none of us – myself included – are familiar with yet. At the same time, we humans often tend to be drawn to the familiar. We’re offering plenty of that this evening too. But beyond that, you might also, in a sense, stumble upon a completely different format and hear new things, all of which are emotionally powerful and accessible.

You say that the Long Concert Night is intended to encapsulate the festival’s theme, »Home«. How does that work?

On the evening of the Long Concert Night, we want to really showcase our festival home, the Beethovenhalle. The Beethovenhalle will be brought to life through music: we will be performing across the entire hall and its various spaces in parallel and simultaneously. Good hospitality and a high standard of visitor experience are important to us in general, but here in particular. The newly designed Festival Salon, which is open on all concert days, will serve as a sort of social hub for the Long Night. In addition, our catering partner Cantos will, of course, be providing food and drink there and at other locations. After all, people will be staying with us from 6 pm to 11 pm. Another example is Café Atara. This performative event takes place in the small foyer. Actors portray visitors to a historic café in Jerusalem, a famous site of Jewish culture – and anyone can strike up a conversation with them. The Beethovenhalle is remarkable in that its architecture creates a wide variety of performative and social situations. The aim of the evening is to stage these situations and, in doing so, foster a sense of community.

Is there an overarching narrative, a common thread, running through the many programme items?

The concert programme starts from a classical core and then branches out further and further in a wide variety of directions, culminating in a colourful Afro-queer song recital at the end. The focus is on reaching out from Bonn to the world, whilst also featuring works relating to exile and flight. Overall, it’s a programme that evolves and diversifies as the evening progresses, aiming to show that differences – and even contradictions – enrich one another, and that we can draw on a wealth of inspiration.

Can you give visitors with a preference for classical music a few tips on what not to miss?

First of all, I’d mention The Trinity Sinfonia, the hand-picked chamber orchestra led by Bonn-based pianist Fabian Müller. This fantastic ensemble of soloists performs alongside the renowned violist Nils Mönkemeyer. It’s definitely a ›must-hear‹ and also the kick-off of the evening. Fabian and his community continue to form the traditional core, for example with the Aris Quartet, who act as principal players for The Trinity Sinfonia. Fabian and Nils Mönkemeyer will also perform a duo recital. In addition, the Beethovenfest Talents will perform chamber music. These are top-class young musicians from around the world whom we support.

And for curious visitors, what recommendations do you have?

We’ve got some brilliant folk-inspired programmes on offer. I’d highly recommend Goran Stevanovich, for example – a superb accordionist who tells the story of his Balkan roots through music. Another tip is the world premiere of the song cycle Susanna Sultana by Elena Kats-Chernin. This documentary-style concert format tells a Jewish family story, with influences from Sephardic music and klezmer. Or the brilliant American violinist Johnny Gandelsmann, who received the MacArthur Fellowship – one of the highest cultural honours in the USA – for his series ‘This is America’, featuring commissioned solo works. There’s a huge range on offer!