Beethoven Pastoral Project

Classical music industry develops awareness of climate change – more than 200 orchestras and artists take part in a worldwide project.

Classical music has been silent about Climate Change for too long.
The Beethoven Pastoral Project by the Beethoven Anniversary Society, the UN and other partners now calls on artists around the world to come up with concrete projects for climate protection in the Beethoven Anniversary Year BTHVN2020. In his sixth symphony, the “Pastoral”, Beethoven painted the relationship between man and nature in the early 19th century.
More than 200 artists and orchestras are now participating in the worldwide Beethoven Pastoral Project. The contributions are as varied as the origins of the participants. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra in Great Britain invites a climate researcher to discuss necessary measures for environmental protection, and the Istanbul Music Festival awards composition commissions on the theme of man and the environment. In Brazil, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra is taking part in a concert to protect the threatened Amazonian forest; in Australia, the Melbourne Symphony is fighting against the consequences of the bush fires in spring.
Even though many events have had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the variety of innovative concert formats on the Internet that has been created as a result shows that a lot is still possible when it comes to climate protection.
The idea of the Beethoven Pastoral Project will go further than the Beethoven Year BTHVN2020 and leave a legacy for future generations.