Classical music has been silent about Climate Change for too long. A concert organizer from Germany wants things to change quickly. His goal: a climate-neutral concert experience that benefits the environment and people in equal measure. He is part of a young movement that brings artists, audiences and climate protection together worldwide.

“The music business cannot simply duck responsibility as if the problem didn’t exist,” explains Leander Hotaki. That’s why he makes sure that his concerts have a minimal impact on the environment. The classical music industry has been silent for too long, Hotaki says, while his colleagues from pop music are increasingly recognizing the influence of the climate movement and are organizing appropriate concerts, such as the Live Earth Concerts with Shakira and other big stars.

Hotaki was all the more pleased when he heard about the Beethoven Pastoral Project, which is working with the UN, the Beethoven Jubilee Society and other partners in the Beethoven Jubilee Year to call on artists around the world to come up with concrete projects for climate protection. In his sixth symphony, “Pastoral”, Beethoven painted the relationship between man and nature in the early 19th century. “People around the world are concerned how we can ensure the coexistence of almost nine billion people on this globe,” says Malte Boecker, the artistic director of the Beethoven Jubiläums GmbH, “and this has social and ecological consequences.”

An insight that gradually seems to have arrived in the world of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach. Artists such as the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja or the pianist Igor Levit have been working for a long time to increase their audiences’ awareness.

Now the first major concert promoters are also jumping on board. “In the last 12 months, our agency alone has organized 38 international concert tours in more than 200 countries,” British artist agent Jasper Parrot recently explained. His approximately 190 musicians played up to 100 concerts a year and flew around the world — a factor not to be underestimated in the acceleration of climate change.

“When I started organizing climate-conscious concerts in November 2018, the issue was not so urgent in the public eye,” Hotaki says. He insists that every concert should undergo a climate check. To do this, Hotaki calculates the emissions of his concerts based on three factors: audience, venue, and artists.

“The venue is always the easiest. We can’t change much here.” For whether the concert hall has a green electricity contract or uses energy-saving LED lighting is not in Hotaki’s hands.

The operators of the concert halls have a responsibility. But here, too, things are moving: in another contribution to the Beethoven Pastoral Project, the Moosburg Chamber Orchestra has teamed up with a local manufacturer of solar cells. In a joint concert at the beginning of March, the orchestra and the company sensitized the audience to climate protection. The long-term goal is to generate hot water and heating in the Moosheim Stadthalle using solar energy. A real climate gain for Moosburg.

“By planning the tours in such a way that air travel becomes unnecessary, we can already save a lot of emissions.” What cannot be avoided, Hotaki compensates accordingly in offset projects around the world. And that, according to Hotaki, isn’t even that expensive: “If our commitment to nature means that a 76 euro ticket suddenly costs 77 euros, then people are happy to accept it.

Hotaki is currently offsetting emissions in a forestry project in Panama and wind power in India. “But people ask us why we’re investing in far-flung projects when we have to get our own house in order.” Part of the answer is that only a few local projects meet the so-called “Gold Standard”. As the highest grade for compensation projects, it ensures that Hotaki’s investment — and that of its audience — has the highest possible effect.

“But we see the need to bring the effort closer to the local audience,” says Hotaki. That’s why he is currently expanding the projects to include local initiatives, such as the preservation of marshlands near Freiburg.

In Hotaki’s experience, the public is sympathetic to his project and its goal: “Companies and individuals are taking responsibility by sponsoring our climate efforts. At classical concerts, we also have many decision-makers in the audience, who in turn carry our efforts into their spheres. This is a great opportunity to bring our mission to spread climate awareness around classical music to the heart of society and to spark a wider public debate about our responsibility to nature.

By sharing the responsibility for a climate-neutral concert experience with stakeholders and the audience, Hotaki also wants to create new target groups for classical music within green companies and projects: “We have a long way to go, but the first step has been taken.

More than 200 artists and orchestras are now participating in the Beethoven Pastoral Project. And the projects are as varied as the origins of the participants. The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra in Great Britain invites a climate researcher to discuss necessary measures for environmental protection, and the Istanbul Music Festival awards composition commissions on the theme of man and the environment. In Brazil, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra is taking part in a concert to protect the threatened Amazonian forest; in Australia, the Melbourne Symphony is fighting against the consequences of the bush fires in spring.

Even though many events have had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the variety of innovative concert formats on the Internet that has been created as a result shows that a lot is still possible when it comes to climate protection. The idea of the Beethoven Pastoral Project will go further than the Beethoven Year and leave a legacy for future generations.

“We are convinced that what science has been saying for decades can find more resonance in society through artists,” says project manager Elvin Ruić.

On their Instagram channel the artists show how serious they are. There is a picture of Beethoven and a sentence that sounds like a manifesto for the 21st century: “The world needs more ambition, more imagination and determination and a greater sense of urgency if humanity is to secure a sustainable future for the coming generations. There is no time to lose.”

“The music business can’t just duck away as if the problem didn’t exist”, Leander Hotaki explains his motivation to make classical concerts carbon neutral. “When I started organizing carbon-aware concerts in November 2018 the topic wasn’t that urgent in public discussions.”

Are you an artist or concert organizer? Devote your art to environmental protection and join the Beethoven Pastoral Project!

Classical music can’t duck away, says major artists agency

But today the rarefied world of classical music is shaken up by calls for climate action. The reason: its success as a business model, classical music relies very heavily on international touring, as Jasper Parrot, chairman at one of the major artist agencies, pointed out last month. “In the last 12 months alone HarrisonParrott has organized 38 international tours to more than 200 countries, many involving American and European orchestras traveling to Asia, which usually entails well over 100 people flying to different cities. Our roster is around 190 musicians, and many of them perform upwards of 100 concerts a year around the world.”

The resulting carbon emissions are immense, making the classical music sector in its actual state a driver of climate change. The classical music industry has been silent for too long, Leander Hotaki says. While the pop music world has been organizing concert series with an environmental focus, such as the Live Earth concerts featuring Shakira and other global stars, the world of classical music has been mostly silent about it.

Participating in the Beethoven Pastoral Project, Leander Hotaki will host a carbon-free concert featuring Riccardo Chailly and the Philarmonica Della Scala in the German towns of Freiburg and Nürnberg. “We calculated roughly 18 tonnes of carbon emissions, not including the audience”.

3 elements to start calculating carbon emission

The first step of action is knowledge, Hotaki says. So he started by calculating the emissions resulting from his concerts: “There are three elements to calculating emissions for our concerts.”

• Audience
• Venue
• Artists

“The venue is the easiest part, as one can’t change much about it.” The potential to reduce emissions depends mostly on whether the venue draws its electricity from renewable sources and how the catering is handled. “Some say that the history of a concert venue should also be included in the calculus, but that would make it pretty costly”, Leander Hotaki says. Also, he encourages the audience to take responsibility for themselves, like getting to the venue by public transport.

Hotaki and his team focused on air travel emissions instead, caused by orchestras and frequent flying artists. “By planning a tour schedule in a way that makes air travel unnecessary, we already save a lot of emissions.” What remains to be compensated can be achieved through offsets by supporting climate projects around the world. And this, Hotaki says, is not expensive: “If our engagement for Nature raises a 76-Euros-ticket to a price of 77 Euros, people will largely accept that.”

Audience demands local sustainability projects

Currently, Leander Hotaki achieves his carbon compensations through a reforestation project in Panama and developing wind power in India. “But people keep asking, why do we invest in projects so far away while there are things to do in our neighborhood.” A part of the answer is that these projects are certified by the “Gold Standard”, which offers the highest quality carbon offsets, maximizing the impact of Hotaki’s investment. “But we really see the need to bring our efforts closer to our public, so we are about to diversify our investments with local initiatives like the preservation of swamplands.”

In Hotaki’s experience, the audience is sympathetic to the project and its objective. “Companies and individuals take responsibility by sponsoring our climate efforts. In classical concerts we also have many decision-makers in the audience and, in turn, they take our efforts into their spheres. A great chance to decentralize our mission to spread climate awareness around classical music and spark a larger public discussion about our responsibility towards nature.”

By sharing the responsibility of a climate-neutral concert experience with stakeholders and the audience Hotaki also aims at creating new target groups for classical music within green companies and projects: “We have a long road ahead, but the first step is done.”

Dr. Leander Hotaki is managing director of the Hörtnagel Konzerte Nürnberg and Albert Konzerte, where he is also an artistic director. Find all the information about his concert with Riccardo Chailly and Filarmonica Della Scala on May 06 here.

Everything changed for Indian musician Ricky Kej when he won his first Grammy Award in 2015. „I decided to dedicate all of my music and my life to the environment and to having a positive social impact,“ he tells us. Ricky believes that the powerful, emotive medium of music can be the catalyst to convert mere awareness to action.

Nature is Ricky’s source of inspiration

As a composer, listening to music never inspired him to create music. „I have always been inspired by other mediums to create tunes and melodies.“

„I realized that all music started with sounds from within nature, and humans imitating those sounds.“ Ricky also found a deep connection between music and nature, and: “I would see personality in every single creature,“ he says, including insects and reptiles. „I was definitely a weird child!“

3 roles artists play in the fight against climate change

According to Ricky, art can play an important role in three crucial ways:

• Inspiring conversations,
• empowering people and
• creating action.

„Only when people start acknowledging an issue and begin a dialogue, will a solution come.“ The biggest threat to the environment, Ricky says, was the constant thought, that someone else will make a difference.

„We are waiting for leaders, politicians, corporations, NGO’s to make a difference, when we need to empower ourselves and everyone around us to bring about change within our own lives, and thus make this world a better place for everyone around us.“

Ricky Kej

Are you an artist who wants to make a difference? Join Ricky Kej and artists around the globe — join the Beethoven Pastoral Project!

Music is a powerful language

„My ears have always been more important than my eyes,“ he says. While most of his classmates were fascinated by television and cartoons, Ricky was hooked in to his music system. „I would pull apart songs, try and figure out the instruments used.“

„Music is a powerful language not just for communicating a message, but to retain that message deep within the consciousness of a listener. And now, increasingly for conveying strong messages about how we need to work together to conserve nature, for our own survival.”

It’s easy to reduce your own carbon footprint — but what about the people around you? Will it help to cut the tires of their SUVs? Hack their credit card so they can’t book transatlantic flights anymore? No, it won’t. By the next day insurance will have made sure that theres a new oversized vehicle in the garage and the plane will fly even without your neighbour.

And that’s were artists com in.

While our individual actions are important, the problem with solving problems on our own is that you also cut down your abilities to connect with like-minded peers. So instead of overthinking your own consumption patterns or trying to reduce your carbon footprint by another two percent go forward by looking out for people who have your mindset.

Or as artist Ricky Kej put it:

I travel all around the world to perform and spread the message of saving the environment.

Ricky Kej is part of the “Artists for the Earth “ — Network. Its participants are convinced that art has the power to influence and to inspire. Or as they put it on their website:

“It acts as a mirror to society, able to illuminate the human condition in ways beyond pure science or fact. It distills experience, and through it, can raise questions, reveal a conflict or a dilemma and communicate ideas across cultures irrespective of borders. It can elicit emotion, deepen understanding and help to galvanize a movement.”

In 1970 the Earth Day Movement started to make people aware of their lifestyle’s consequences for the planet. It became the starting point for a global movement that lead to environmental laws and a wave of activism.

In 2020 — 50 years later — artists use their publicity to promote the values of ecology. Famous french string quartet Quatuor Ébène put it like this:

Ecology — the humanism of the 21st century — – encourages us to rethink our frontiers.

The quartet takes part in the Beethoven Pastoral Project, which invites artists all across the world to make a statement for environmental protection. Musicians like conductor Paavo Järvi or jazz pianist Uri Caine elaborate on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony.

In his masterpiece Beethoven depicts the harmonious unity between mankind and nature — back in the early 19th century. About a hundred artists and collectives have joined the project so far.