Beethoven / Neunte (first movement), 2017
@Gessnerallee Zürich
Pictures by James Bantone
With Dennis Wintermeyer, Nico Roses
Production: Rabea Grand Production
Produced by Nils Amadeus Lange in cooperation with Gessnerallee Zürich,
Funded by Stadt Zürich Kultur,
With his Symphony No. 9 (1824), Beethoven created an anthem to camaraderie. Nearly 150 years later, the Council of Europe honored the final movement by choosing it as its own anthem. In light of closed borders, exiting EU countries, and xenophobia, today–as in 1824–Beethoven's Ninth and the European anthem contradict the current political environment in Europe. The intended camaraderie has become enmity.
Nils Amadeus Lange counters these developments with a choreography of equality and democracy. Through a live stream, this work can be experienced and learned by everyone.