Press release of the city of Bonn
REPORT FROM BONN – Bonners travel to China for the Western Mass: World Music and Beethoven in their luggage
BN – Bonn artists will travel together with the rock and pop commissioner of the city of Bonn to the so-called Western Fair – the Western China international Fair – in Bonn’s project partner city Chengdu at the beginning of November to present the project “World Beats meet Beethoven”.
The project combines phrases from works by the famous composer with modern club sounds. The Three Live Musicians Darius Darek (trombone and DJ), Thomas Kimmerle (saxophone) and Florian Esch(trumpet) rearrange Beethoven pieces and place them in the overall context of worldwide popular music.
“It will be a new project that has been put together especially for this trip, DJ world music with live elements and a compositional focus on Beethoven,” explains Hans-Joachim Over, rock and pop representative at the Cultural Office of the City of Bonn. The model and basis of the project is the “World Beat Party”, which has been held for ten years in the UN and Beethoven city.
The trip starts on Tuesday, November 1. The musicians play on the German Evening on Thursday, November 3, in the city and give several concerts as part of the fair. In addition further appearances in clubs are being prepared. In addition, appointments are planned with the Chengdu Cultural Administration and other organisers and cultural operators. The costs for the stay of the artists at the Westmesse, the Foreign Office will bear the costs.
The musical diversity of the “World Beat Party” appeals to a colourful and cosmopolitan audience, whose enthusiasm and joy of dancing shape the special atmosphere of the parties. The series of events is already known beyond Bonn and has been engaged in numerous festivals, international conferences of UNESCO and GIZ as well as as a guest performance abroad in Norway, Poland, Austria, Israel and Italy. In April 2012, the event was officially recognized by the German Commission for UNESCO as a civil society contribution to the international agreement on “cultural diversity”.
In addition a Beethoven figure by German and Chinese artists was designed for the Western Fair in the summer in the Frauenmuseum. She is consulate General in Chengdu and goes to the Blue Roof Museum after the Western Mass. With this figure Bonn advertises Beethoven’s 250th birthday. birthday, which the birthplace will celebrate in 2020. More information about the anniversary is available at www.bonn.de/@beethoven2020.
The Western China International Fair (WCIF) has been held since 2000. In 2016 Germany will be the guest of honour at the trade fair in Chengdu. Since 2000 Bonn has maintained project-bound contacts with Chengdu. The framework for this is provided by a partnership between the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the province of Sichuan.
In 2009 Bonn and Chengdu signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the sustainable development of both cities in the fields of economy, culture, technology, schools, tourism, community development and environmental protection. More information about the partnership is available at www.bonn.de/@chengdu.
