Biennale Opening with Beethoven’s “Pastoral”

Beethoven’s “Pastoral” exuberantly celebrates the beauty of country life – with birdsong, babbling brooks and dancing peasants. But the idyll turns out to be deceptive ... A perfect prelude to our biennial Paradise lost? On the threat to nature. The rest of the programme also picks up on the Biennale theme: Varèse’s Arcana recalls the alchemist Paracelsus and his search for the healing powers of nature, while Srnka’s Superorganisms explores life ...