75 Years EW Passau - Concert & Lecture - "Beethoven as a European" - The Ninth Symphony and Its History as Europe's Anthem

Since 1972, Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" has been the anthem of Europe. What ideas about freedom and the coexistence of peoples did the composer himself hold? How did Beethoven become a European phenomenon, and how can we explain the enigmatic Ninth Symphony within his overall body of work? Intendant Dr. Carsten Gerhard explores these questions in a lecture.

The evening is framed musically by the Liepe Duo: Niklas Liepe (violin) and Nils Liepe (piano) perform movements from the Spring Sonata op. 24 and the Kreutzer Sonata op. 47. The siblings rank among the most accomplished chamber music duos of their generation - in 2017 they won the German Music Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition of the Da Ponte Foundation. In chamber music they have collaborated with András Schiff, Gidon Kremer, and Yuri Bashmet; Niklas Liepe was awarded the Opus Klassik prize in 2021 and performs as a soloist on international stages.

The evening is a prelude to the 75th Europäische Wochen Passau festival.

Please note: admission tickets are valid exclusively for the evening of September 24, 2026, and do NOT entitle you to attend the concert on September 26 with Sir Simon Rattle.