Link to the Show / Show NotesBonn’s annual Beethoven Festival got underway a few days ago. The event which features 60 concerts, plus an extensive accompanying programme, has grown to become a musical highlight in the region.
Ilona Schmiel initially studied music before completing further studies in arts and media management in Berlin and Oslo. Her career in arts management began as an assistant to the director of the Donaueschinger Musiktager. She has also worked in this field in Scandinavia, as a concert agent in Germany and prior to Bonn, was artistic and general manager of the Glocke Veranstatltung in Bremen.
The 2008 Beethoven festival is the fourth under Ilona Schmiel’s direction. In this week’s Inspired Minds she talks to Breandáin O’Shea about some of the highlights at this year’s festival, the changing performance practices of the music of Beethoven and the significance of this year’s festival theme “Macht und Musik” or power and music.
Interview Breandáin O’Shea/Ilona Schmiel