As part of the Beethoven Bicentennial Year (1827-2027), International Beethoven Project presents a groundbreaking multidisciplinary audiovisual project focused on Beethoven’s relationship to the piano, his lifelong creative companion.

Few people know that the piano we know and love today would not have existed without Beethoven’s insistence to piano makers that it be stronger, louder, richer than it was.

Beethoven’s piano sonatas, composed over the entire course of his life, offer the most vivid demonstration of what he imagined the piano to be at a time when it could not do what he heard in his head!

Only now can we come close to Beethoven’s idealized piano sound with the new Paulello piano, the world's most advanced piano, significantly bigger than a Steinway, made by the only European artisanal piano maker, making the best use of traditional piano making techniques and computer modeling.

The project’s key elements will be:

-An audiovisual album of Beethoven’s complete 32 Piano Sonatas and key Variation and Bagatelle sets (Diabelli & Eroica, etc.) performed by George Lepauw on the groundbreaking Stephen Paulello piano (10 feet long, 102 keys, 1500 lbs) and other top pianos of today and also of Beethoven's day (Streicher, Broadwood)

-A documentary film directed by Martin Mirabel about Beethoven and the piano, while covering George's journey through these timeless masterworks

-Commissions of new visual art by 32 living visual artists, inspired by Beethoven’s Sonatas

-A companion website with additional insights about each Sonata, interviews with experts, keys to listening, and tips to students and amateur pianists.

-A podcast and educational outreach initiatives around the world to engage a new generation with Beethoven's legacy

Contribute now to the project!

A separate, more detailed presentation is available to potential donors. If you do not have it, please request it at: ibp@internationalbeethovenproject.com

• Top Contributors ($30,000 or more) to the project will have their names associated with the project in all press releases (in order of contribution amount), and in the most visible spots on the dedicated website, the physical box set, and in all concert programs of the Sonata Tour that will take place between 2025 and 2028. Some (see conditions in separate presentation deck) will also be entitled to a private performance by George Lepauw (free but for associated travel costs).

• The 17 most famous Sonatas will be dedicated to donors making contributions between $10,000 and $25,000. The list of the top specific sonatas follows below.

• Each commitment of $5,000 will grant the donor a dedicated Sonata from the lesser-known but beautiful set (listed below)

N.B. : The Top Contributors will have opportunities to make more choices on dedicated sonatas and get custom tailored benefits.

N.B.2 : Contributions can be spread out over the coming years.

Donations in any other amounts are welcome too! Please email us for more details if you'd like.

All donors above $500/year will have access to a password-protected site with all the music and film made well before the full public release in 2027.

Questions? Email us:

ibp@internationalbeethovenproject.com