Inside Beethoven! The Walk-In Ensemble
Photo: Simon Waloscheck
Exhibition
Find out what it sounds like to be part of an orchestra. The walk-in sound exhibition “Inside Beethoven!” combines the latest musicological research with modern sound engineering to create a spectacular experience of being right inside the music – a perspective which is normally a closed book for the public and reserved for the musicians themselves.
You are invited to walk between the digital music stands and put yourself in the musicians’ shoes – an unusual, enriching experience for amateurs and professionals alike. This will shed light on the music itself, its polyphonic structure, the part played by each individual instrument, its contribution to the overall sound and its significance in the music as a whole.
Photo: Simon Waloschek
Visitors will hear Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet in E flat major op. 20, both the version for winds and strings and Beethoven’s own trio arrangement for piano, clarinet and cello. Each individual part and the changes made for the trio arrangement can be followed at digital music stands as the music plays.
“Inside Beethoven!” is an innovative joint project which was realized at Detmold University of Music in commemoration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. The exhibition will be touring Germany and Austria during 2020 and 2021.
The installation can be experienced at the German National Library in Frankfurt am Main from 30 July to 22 August 2020 and in the German Music Archive in Leipzig from 27 August to 27 October 2020 as an accompaniment to the conference “Beethoven 2020/2030: Music in the Digital Present and Future”.
A publication and CD has been published to accompany the sound installation: "Inside Beethoven! Das begehbare Ensemble". Edited by Axel Berndt and Joachim Veit, Bonn 2019. The publication is available at 18.00 Euros at both of our sites during the exhibition period and can also be purchased from bookstores.
The exhibition at the German National Library is being funded by monies provided by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media in connection with Germany’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Information for your visit
We have developed a protection and hygiene concept to make your visit to the exhibition as safe as possible during the coronavirus pandemic. Please take note of the following when you visit:
- Visitors may only enter the installation one at a time
- Wear a face mask that covers your nose and mouth until you have taken your seat in the hall.
- Keep a distance of at least 1.5 to 2 metres between yourself and other people
- Pay attention to the general rules of hygiene (appropriate behaviour when coughing and sneezing)
- Do not come to the exhibition if you feel ill.
- We collect contact data from every participant so that we can track infections
They are based on the applicable versions of the coronavirus protection regulations and the respective implementing provisions in each state.
Access via the entrance to the German Museum of Books and Writing.
Accessibility
Barrier-free access to the exhibition is available.
Leipzig
27 August to 27 October 2020
Venue: Music exhibition of the German Music Archive
Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18.00
Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Admission free
Adresse and getting here Leipzig
German National Library
Deutscher Platz 1
04103 Leipzig
Getting here
We advise you to use public transport.
1 / By public transport
By rail
From the main railway station, take S-Bahn S1 in the direction of Riesa, S2 in the direction of Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz, S3 in the direction of Stötteritz or S5/S5X in the direction of Zwickau. Journey time approx. 7 minutes, get off at “Leipzig MDR”. Exit onto Semmelweisstraße, then turn right and continue for 400 m to the intersection at Straße des 18. Oktober.
Alternatively, take tram line 16 from platform 2 in front of the main railway station (in the direction of Lößnig) and get off at “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”. Journey time approx. 11 minutes.
By air
From Leipzig/Halle airport, take S-Bahn S5/S5X in the direction of Zwickau. Journey time approx. 30 minutes, get off at “Leipzig MDR”. Exit onto Semmelweisstraße, then turn right and continue for 400 m to the intersection at Straße des 18. Oktober.
2 / By bike
The German National Library in Leipzig can easily be reached by bike. You can get to the DNB by taking the cycle paths on Straße des 18. Oktobers, Semmelweißstraße, and Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße. A cycle lane also runs past the DNB's main entrance. Numerous bicycle parking spaces are available along this lane and at the main entrance to the German Museum of Books and Writing. The bicycle racks in front of the museum are covered.
Besides taking the cycle lane, you can reach the bicycle parking spaces via a passageway from the junction of Semmelweißstraße/Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße through the DNB's tower courtyard.
3 / By car
Approaching from the north
Take the A9 to the Schkeuditzer Kreuz intersection, continue on the A14 towards Dresden and take the Leipzig-Mitte (city centre) exit; continue on the B2 towards Leipzig city centre as far as the intersection at Prager Straße/Semmelweisstraße (follow the signs for “Deutsche Nationalbibliothek”).
Approaching from the south and east
Take the A9 or A14, change to the A38 and continue to the Leipzig-Süd exit; change to the B2 and continue to the Südvorstadt exit; turn right into Kurt-Eisner-Straße and continue to the German National Library.
4 / Accessibility
The German National Library in Leipzig has disabled parking spaces right in front of the building. The entrance for disabled visitors is signposted. The reading rooms and cafeteria are accessible by lift.
Last changes:
27.08.2020