"Ta-ta-ta-taaa" - everyone knows these four notes and they are more than 200 years old. This world-famous motif was invented by Ludwig van Beethoven - the rebel without a wig who ignored the laws of music, the world parade champion (more than 20 times in Vienna), the slob who dried his wet shirts on the piano, and an indomitable man who, despite being deaf, created music that today symbolizes the brotherhood of nations. Instead of working through the artist's biography, the program rummages through Beethoven's moving boxes and brings to light events, peculiarities and musical facts about the jubilarian Ludwig van Beethoven in a humorous and knowledgeable way. Excerpts from Beethoven's symphonies show the picture of a composer between the classical and romantic periods, who mastered folkloristic, dance-like lightness as well as depictions of nature, grand symphonies and themes with catchy tunes.

The iconoclastic Sir Roger Norrington, one of the most influential British conductors of the 20th century and a great interpreter of the Baroque repertoire, died on 18 July 2025 at the age of 91. ARTE pays him tribute by inviting you to (re)discover this concert given in 2014 in the rococo theatre of Schwetzingen Castle, where he conducted the SWR Symphony Orchestra.

In memory of the countless victims of armed conflict, Patricia Kopatchinskaja presents a concert conceived as a mosaic of deeply moving music and texts from a wide variety of sources and authors. The violinist breaks down the traditional barrier between the stage and the audience.