It’s not a metaphor or a figure of speech, it’s a logo. And like every logo, it has to be memorable. In all likelihood it will be just that, first because it’s enigmatic, and second because it’s written in block caps as if it were a new insurance company. Its success may well lie in the interaction of these two factors.
BTHVN2020 is an umbrella organisation. Its goal is to coordinate the efforts of a wide range of agents and create a festive and interesting jubilee. The Ninth is okay, but only with a purpose! This umbrella organisation also has the right to turn out its own projects with maximum breadth of impact. It would be wonderful if the coordination would reflect our republic’s ambition to present Beethoven – a man born in Bonn, an uncompromising musical innovator with a strong social commitment – in such a way that he doesn’t degenerate into an entertainment figure or petrify into an icon of high culture …
Slow down! Only Bonn will have a ‘Bonn Tour’, that much is right, but otherwise we shouldn’t brag: Beethoven belongs to the world’s cultural heritage. It ought to be satisfaction enough if we work out who’s the Beethoven of our era (the term ‘Titan’ was dropped long ago) and do it at a high musical level.