Beethoven podcasts downloaded more than 180,000 times

Music-lovers around the world have visited the Deutsche Welle website more than 180,000 times since last autumn to access and download audio files from the Bonn Beethovenfest. DW-WORLD.DE offers concert recordings from 2001 to 2007. Among others, listeners can hear the German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen, the Beaux Arts Trio, the Bonn Beethoven Orchestra and pianist Paul Lewis, as well as outstanding young orchestras from Egypt, South Africa, China, Georgia, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine. The young musicians performed at Deutsche Welle’s Orchestra Campus and at the Beethovenfest. They played Beethoven symphonies, as well as contemporary compositions which Deutsche Welle commissioned from young composers in the respective countries.

In 2008, at Deutsche Welle’s request, the Anton Rubinstein Orchestra of the Conservatory St. Petersburg will perform at the Orchestra Campus in Bonn. At the same time, Germany’s international broadcaster will commission a piece of music from Russian composer Kuzma Bodrov. His composition will have its premiere on September 20 as part of the Orchestra Campus in Bonn. Other concerts are planned in Berlin and St. Petersburg.

As the Beethovenfest’s leading media partner, Deutsche Welle will once again help to make it a worldwide event in 2008 – via DW-RADIO in several languages, via DW-TV in German, English and Spanish – and at www.dw-world.de/beethoven.

Preliminary reports and activities are already underway – including a Beethoven Quiz. Deutsche Welle will start promoting the Beethoven­fest worldwide this April. DW-RADIO and DW-TV will air about 400 spots every month. In all, Deutsche Welle will produce more than 5,000 minutes of programming with items related to the Beethovenfest. Apart from audio files, DW-WORLD.DE offers a selection of manuscripts.