Beethovenfest returns to renovated Beethovenhalle after nine-year absence

After a nine-year renovation, the historic Beethovenhalle in Bonn is back — and so is the Beethovenfest, which opens its 2026 season on September 4 under the theme Nach Hause/Daheim (At Home). The festival, one of Germany's most prestigious classical music events, returns to its spiritual home with a fully refurbished acoustic environment and infrastructure capable of hosting world-class orchestras.

Opening night with LSO and Schiff

The London Symphony Orchestra under chief conductor Sir Antonio Pappano will perform Beethoven's The Consecration of the House and Bruckner's Ninth Symphony. The opening work, A Call to the Heavens, was composed by Stefan Behrisch specifically for the occasion: 14 trumpets distributed across the concert hall, accompanied by organ. World-renowned Hungarian pianist András Schiff — attracted by the newly restored hall and its infrastructure — will also perform during the festival.

A festival for the whole community

Festival director Steven Walter says the concept of home is central to this year's programming: home is more of a feeling than a place — it is where you can rely on a real social network, where people notice if you are missing. Beyond the main stage, the festival is reaching out to Bonn's neighbourhoods. A dedicated Festival Salon provides space for local communities and bands to programme their own events, while the initiative Meet your Band offers free, low-threshold participation for those who would not normally enter a classical concert hall. A community choir founded by Juri de Marco in the Tannenbusch district a year ago also takes part, bringing together people to sing and improvise regardless of whether they can read music.