Germany starts Beethoven's 250th birth anniversary celebrations

Bonn, Dec 17 (IANS) Germany has started year-long celebrations to commemorate the 250th birth anniversary of composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven which will take place on December 17, 2020.About 300 projects, including thousands of events, will be implemented under the brand "BTHVN2020" until December 17, 2020, Beethoven's 250th birthday, reports Xinhua news agency.The celebrations started on Monday with a festive concert in Beethoven's hometown of Bonn.In an opening speech, German Minister of Culture Monika Gruetters said that Beethoven's music touches, moves, inspires and connects people across all borders, and it was not difficult to bring him mentally into the present day since he was one of the first globally revered mega-stars.To start into the anniversary year, Beethoven's birthplace in Bonn, now a museum, will be reopened to the public from Tuesday after a renovation that cost 3.75 million euros ($4.18 million).Internationally renowned Chinese composer Tan Dun is scheduled to perform his Beethoven-inspired work "The Nine Project" for the first time in August 2020.Beethoven lived in Bonn for the first two decades of his life. The German pianist later settled in the Austria's Vienna where he died in 1827.
--IANS ksk/