Beethoven Programme – Healing Sounds

Playing the clarinet is fun! The fact that the one who plays has impaired hearing does not belie the truth of this sentence. The objective of starting the special training project, known as Beethoven Programme of the Windland Music Foundation, was to help children with impaired hearing to develop their artistic skills.

Through developing the children’s artistic skills, the programme helps them to enhance their self-esteem and enrich their emotional life, thereby taking the first steps towards undertaking creative work in the field of music. Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most famous musicians of the world composed his greatest pieces, among them Symphony No. IX after having his hearing lost. Through the participation in the Beethoven Programme, people with impaired hearing have the opportunity learn how to play music. In Budapest (Hungary) there are already 40 children taking part in the programme, lead by the well-known clarinettist József Balogh. The project “Music for Deaf” is co-funded by Leonardo da Vinci programme of the European Union. This project provides an opportunity to develop training material and methodology for the musical training of children with impaired hearing.