Marc Erkens - The narration VIII: Beethoven - Against the silence + film 'A Late Q

How uncommonly hard can life be? After a deeply unhappy childhood in Bonn, Beethoven finally manages to escape the traumas of his childhood. He makes a splash in Vienna. First as a pianist and very quickly also as a composer. But then fate strikes again and mercilessly. His hearing deteriorates and eventually fails completely. He no longer sees it happening and almost steps out of life. Yet he persists. Because he is convinced that the music that is still in his head has something essential to tell humanity. Listening to that music is like discovering your own soul. Feel welcome if you are there. After the lecture, the film ‘A Late Quartet’ (2012) will be shown, a contemporary approach to what Beethoven can mean for us today. In this poignant music film, we follow a world-famous and close-knit string quartet that threatens to fall apart after twenty-five years of playing together. When the cellist has to stop due to Parkinson’s disease, underlying tensions emerge and mutual relationships come under pressure. What follows is an intense search for balance, connection, and the meaning of music, both for the ensemble and for each individual.