here he's had a pretty raw deal. but the good news is that beethoven here like most other things has been properly extended so we can give him a proper celebration welcome to arts and culture where beethoven is of course our man of the hour but there's some other big news. the long awaited opening of what was once prussian royal palace rebuilt and repurposed. museum complex. the coronavirus pandemic has indeed wreaked havoc with so many cultural events in 2020 and after multiple delays the homebush opens just in time for germany's 2nd major lockdown which means it's had to resort to a live stream a vast and hugely expensive complex adds a new element to berlin's already unique museum landscape and before we talk about it in detail let's look at the side of how it came to be. it could be europe's most

hotly debated construction project. at the heart of berlin looks like a palace from 3 sides with historically modern eastern facade named after the explorers and scholars and visit. the building combines baroque details with cold functional winds. that's almost the whole board forum it isn't a palace it's a radical new building that recalls the historic berlin palace because parliament decided it would it's a nod to history. blast from the past the original palace was a residence to the german kaiser. world war 2 bombs left it badly damaged and in 1950 the communist east german government demolished what was left in its place they built the palace of the republic part legislature part cultural center. after east and west germany were unified the german government decided to get rid

of the palace of the republic but the plan sparked protests it was so controversial that the government allowed a 2 year reprieve the gutted structure became an exhibition and performance space for berlin's album dark. and then came the demolition crew. meanwhile the bitter fight continued over how to rebuild berlin a modern city of tomorrow or a reminder of a baroque past in 2002 germany's parliament chose the latter. in italian architect frank costello won the competition with his hybrid design. in the us and off the new palace is a unique combination of the old and the new which compliment each other harmoniously. but again. it was

another 7 years before the foundation stone was laid that's almost full on the whole board forum is the result of wide public debate at least in terms of its layout and that's why the 1st thing one can experience there even amid these coronavirus conditions is that this building and its historic aesthetic gives berlin back its old center point. a new old central landmark so to speak but what's inside traces of history and not much more for the moment that's set to change in 2021. to collections of the ethnological museums that are to be housed here come with their own issues colonialism colonial ality some $20000.00 objects from around the world will be on display here but how did they get to germany in the 1st place where they bought or looted the forum has opened new public debate about germany's colonial past

a chapter of history the country is just now starting to fully examine. a nod to history as we heard there is complicated and layered as that can be here in the german capital melissa holroyd is joining me once again not melissa this is then such a huge project 7 years obviously in construction and it wants to be so many different things but it seems that really the conversation in recent weeks has centered on this issue of looted art yet just as we saw there these 20000 artifacts really the sticking point from the ethnological museum and the asian art collection we have to remember that did the discussions surrounding the home for is decades old now it was in 2002 that the time gave its stamp of approval for the building to be constructed and during that time this discourse has changed radically so then the issues surrounding the dubious provenance how the circumstances under which objects were obtained during colonial era times was not really part of. the

mainstream discourse and that these calls have got much louder to return the goods that were and they were obtained under colonial reigns the critics of this critics of whom really say this place is a reinvention of the royal colonial past that the building itself is modeled on the whole palace and they were the instigators of. i mean colonialism is complete with a cross at the top it's being rebuilt after this palace which i think was also a bit controversial now what's the response to all these calls going to be obviously going forward you know the has been has been quite a response so how that plays out really remains to be seen but germany's culture minister monica groucho's has said that the colonial past of germany and that any conversation surrounding these artifacts that were acquired during germany's colonial era but that will be done transparently and that is things will go on say here in itself you know that's going to be a difficult thing to judge and it's also difficult to then trace each and every

single object of course yet it seems that the real work i mean is really a blind spot for germany fairy of time than they will be returned and it's difficult to imagine what was not unfairly obtained when you know this colonial era over here it is finally open the real work is just beginning so we have all of this space we have this center for debate what is it that people are actually going to be able to see in 2021 if when we can finally see if we can finally get out of here there is a lot to see there's going to be there's going to be elections to asia there's also a palace cellar which looks at the history of the actual building itself and the history of the building itself is an exhibition on berkeley in which has a look at history there's an exhibition on the history of the 800 years of the history of germany as well covering 800 years of that there are also there's also going to be a video panorama project numerous video projects as well as discussions of people

who really are asked and invited to ask about you know asked about asked about the artworks they're allowed to you know question these things as well it's not just going to be so much is going to be one way there's a lot of discussions that are going to be coming and that is definitely the idea behind the entire place and all that of course when we can finally get through the door hopefully sooner than later in 2021 when this pandemic is under control thanks very much for bringing that to us melissa home right. well i wish i had a drunk roll for this next one because it's 250 years ago that nutrition beethoven was born and one's really exactly sure of the date but he was baptized on december 17th and so that's the date we recognize the account was concerts and events for this beethoven anniversary year have been pushed off into 2021 and nowhere are they happier about that then in his birthplace. it was in this house

that the musical geniuses life began today beethoven's birthplace is a museum with an exhibition charting the composer's biography it also displays the instruments he played. the beethoven house is a place of pilgrimage for beethoven lovers including british russian composer gabriel perkoff here of grandson of composer sergei prokofiev. the wear and tear on this piano reveals beethoven's suffering as his hearing grew worse the composer bangs the keys harder and harder to hear anything at all. it's believed beethoven was almost fully deaf long before he wrote his 9th symphony . the documentary beethoven's 9th symphony for the world looks at the works global impact and why it speaks to people across cultures. it's one of d w c 3 beethoven documentaries released this year. they need different routes coming

off his legacy is some way or another particularly in the driver that he brought us to classical music he opened up this more personal shielded aspect to music. the documentary has already won several international prizes. in another d.w. documentary french horn. sara willis asks how a world without beethoven would sound she talks to musicians of all styles about the composer's far reaching influence including the german rock band scorpions they say if beethoven were alive today he'd be playing catchy riffs on the electric guitar. servants 5th paved the way for riffs like this one and scorpions rocky like a hurricane. jethro

tolls locomotive breath. an idea that is that is repeated very often as a repeating motif which then tends to be shortened to wrist play to them did did use that idea and develops that idea of that. in a world turned upside down by the coronavirus it was a tumultuous beethoven year for john noir meyer's beethoven project concert went on and on the world environment day in june d.w. premiered the sound of nature documentary inspired by beethoven's pastoral symphony . of the pandemic many festivities have now been rescheduled for next year including the big fan fest and the composer's hometown of bon and so the celebrations continue until beethoven's 251st birthday

next to some. lots of birthday cake and you can of course watch those documentaries on our you tube channel classical music and a world without beethoven is also available on amazon prime well now of course it's a roll over beethoven very appropriately from the man who said it 1st because x. beatles or paul mccartney has a new album out. the 78 year old put his own personal spin on the coronavirus lock down turning it into a rock down during which he wrote recorded and produced mccartney 3 and so i will leave you with a teaser of that new album and until next time a few dozen from us here in berlin and be sure to stay safe. go home. in the future the reasons for you know our troops will let you get blood of our

users choice to write world who want to. make your music so more true just to go. i have to choose to do so but we knew the phone was loser. where. we. would.

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of the mega rich. facility admits on g.w. stopping reforms. in the far north. be arctic a powerful expanse of bitter cold. and the sound of global warming. and the inhabitable world it's lonely. barren. and breathtakingly beautiful. way to make the journey around the north pole. cross the tears and talk with people experiencing the changing environment or the ice disappears earlier and it keeps retreating ha

here's the last years have been smelting roughly. should ard which should. our future depends on what happens here in one of the most fragile ecosystems on earth. northern lights with arctic circle starts december 21st w. this is news and these are our top stories a paris court has found 14 people guilty in connection with the 2015 islamist attacks assure the a magazine and a jewish supermarkets they were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 4 years to life the defendants were accused of assisting the attackers who were killed in shootouts with police. in germany reported a new

a daily record of coronavirus deaths on wednesday the country's in fact.