Beethoven Ascending 360°

Beethoven Ascending 360° is a performance installation that can be realised by any group of people. It should take place in a public, urban space that allows for human transit and  interaction. There should be very little or no vehicular traffic. Architectural features such as buildings,  monuments, walls, fences, doorways, gates etc should define the dynamic of the location, as much as, or  more than the open areas through which people move, or in which they congregate. A proximity to semi- public or privately-owned locations with public access, such as shops, offices, public buildings and enclosed  or gated land, should also be an important feature of the location. Finally, most, or all of the location should  be open to the sky.

Participants in Beethoven Ascending 360° are called CELEBRANTS, made up of two groups called ANIMATANTS and OBSERVANTS. The Celebrants (Observants and Animatants) are watched over by a  small group of people called ANGELS, whose job it is to look out for the safety of the Celebrants and take  care of any needs they might have. 

The installation asks each Celebrant to select their favourite recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, to which they listen through headphones from a personal playback device. Each recording is used as a guide for timing the simple, meditative breathing and movement practices which make up the installation.

Beethoven Ascending 360° was first performed in the city of Münster by students from Maria-Sibylla-Merian-Gymnasium in Telgte, in 2022.

Beethoven Ascending 360° was commissioned by Gesellschaft für Neue Musik Münster e. V. and funded by BTHVN2020 with support from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg District.