Cultural events in Bonn

Telekom opens its doors for young artists

The first Telekom “Young Art Lovers” tour was held to coincide with the start of the Art Cologne fair. Alongside numerous works from Telekom’s own art collection, a special highlight also awaited the premiere’s guests from the Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium.

Launch of “Young Art Lovers”, Telekom’s new art format. On a total of five dates from April to October of this year, schools and universities will be given an exclusive insight into the Art Collection Telekom. That’s why 18 students from the advanced art course in grade 11 at the municipal Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium visited the company’s headquarters in Bonn, Germany on April 19. 

They were the first to take part in the guided tours. “I find it especially interesting how art is integrated into the everyday working life of a company,” said Sophie, one of the students from the high school. “You don’t normally expect that in this kind of environment.” 

During a one-hour tour, the curator of the Art Collection Telekom, Natalie Hoyos, also gave the young artists access to works of art that are in the part of the company that is not open to the public. The focus of the Art Collection is on works by young, contemporary artists from Southern and Eastern Europe. 

Maxim, who is also part of the advanced art course, was pleasantly surprised: “I didn’t expect anything like this – it’s not a conventional exhibition. There are artworks to discover both indoors and outdoors. I think that’s what makes the work atmosphere more pleasant and provides inspiration.” 

A special highlight for the guests was the Polish artist Iza Tarasewicz being there in person. Her sculpture, “ONCE INFORMATION HAS PASSED INTO PROTEIN”, has been on display as of late in the foyer of the Telekom headquarters. The artist gave the students an exciting insight into the creative process involved in her work. She, too, was enthusiastic about the event: “I’ve seen for myself how beneficial it is for children when they learn new things. Even as a young person it was special to me when grownups took the time to tell me something about art. That’s why I simply can’t say no to events like these.” 

The Art Collection Telekom was set up in 2010 and includes a wide range of contemporary art – from drawings to digital installations. Interested school and university students are in for a treat. The exhibition will already be opening its doors again as part of “Young Art Lovers” on May 7. The other dates are June 18, July 16 and October 8 – from 12 noon to 2 p.m. For more information and to register, go to art@telekom.com.

Website Art Collection Telekom

Video: ONCE INFORMATION HAS PASSED INTO PROTEIN – Making Of

The Beethoven Competition

Deutsche Telekom invites young talents from throughout the world to the competition, which takes place every two years.

Book tickets for the Beethoven Competition 2019.

Five rounds; contestants playing over three hours of repertoire, from different eras; a nine-member expert jury that judges the performances; and, not least, a highly knowledgeable audience that enthusiastically supports all the participants throughout the competition. This is the International Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn (ITBCB). Every two years, some 100 talented young pianists from around the world apply to take part in the ITBCB. The applicants are screened, and 28 are accepted for the competition. 

The ITBCB, established in 2005, is devoted to Ludwig van Beethoven's piano oeuvre, and it helps keep Beethoven's musical heritage very much alive in the city of his birth.  Every two years, Deutsche Telekom, the initiator of the competition, invites talented young people from all over the world to come to Bonn and demonstrate their skills in competition with their peers. In December 2015, the competition took place for the sixth time. The company's intent with the competition is to promote young artists and offer them the opportunity to showcase themselves internationally. Beethovenfest Bonn serves as the main partner for the competition, in the hope and expectation that the renowned festival's know-how and international connections will help enhance the ITBCB's worldwide reputation.

The ITBCB stands out from other international music competitions by virtue of its new ideas and fresh programmatic approach. It places the works of Beethoven in a context that transcends musical epochs. On the one hand, it presents the composer as a torchbearer for certain musical traditions. On the other, it emphasizes Beethoven's groundbreaking ideas in composition and technique, and his largely unparalleled influence, still felt today, on music history and culture. 

What makes the ITBCB so fascinating, exciting and first-rate, as a result, is that its participants, among the world's best young pianists, bring their own individual, fresh approaches to the works, thereby making every performance a unique – and very modern – experience of Beethoven. Their audiences are always very appreciative. Total in-person attendance for the 2015 concerts reached about 6,000, and the concerts were streamed live to additional viewers.

The Bonn-based ITBCB has launched a number of international music careers, such as that of Henri Sigfridsson, the first-prize winner in 2005. Deutsche Telekom and its partners are proud to welcome talented musicians from around the world to Bonn, in the framework of the ITBCB. Soon, they will be doing so in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birthday, coming up in the year 2020.
Further information is available at: www.telekom-beethoven-competition.com

Beethovenfest Bonn

Every fall, the city of Bonn honors its most famous son, the great musical genius Ludwig van Beethoven, with a multi-week festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, comprising numerous concerts and a wide range of other events focusing on Beethoven's life and works. A total of more than 2,000 artists perform in the Beethovenfest framework. The festival's program attracts international attention, and it brings over 30,000 visitors to Bonn.

For some time, Deutsche Telekom has been one of the Beethovenfest's main sponsors. The company's commitment to the festival highlights its ties to the Bonn region, and its cultural life, and to the rich musical heritage of Beethoven's birthplace. Again and again, Deutsche Telekom has presented memorable concert experiences during the Beethovenfest, such as performances by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The Group has also makes a point of promoting new and unusual concert formats that help position the Beethovenfest as an innovative music event. Beethovenfest events regularly take place in the Telekom Forum, at the company's Landgrabenweg location on Bonn's east bank of the Rhine River.

Every two years, Deutsche Telekom establishes a direct connection between the Beethovenfest and the renowned International Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn (ITBCB), in which young pianists show off their skills. The Beethovenfest is the main partner for the piano competition. The links between the Beethovenfest festival and the ITBCB boost the attention given to both of the cultural highlights. The piano-competition winners often give their own concerts in the Beethovenfest framework.

The special projects carried out by Deutsche Telekom during the Beethovenfest Bonn include an initiative in which school students take on managerial roles. The company gives students of Bonn's secondary schools the opportunity to plan, organize and carry out a Beethovenfest concert, with professional guidance. The young managers negotiate budgets; acquire sponsors; engage external services providers, including providers of technical services; and design advertising media for the event.

Further information is available at: en.beethovenfest.de/​​​​​​​