This year marks 250 years since the birth of one of the most renowned composers of all time, Ludwig van Beethoven. Germany has poured 27 million euros into marking the occasion, and there are a number of events happening here in Berlin, including Labor Beethoven 2020, which is a contemporary reading of the work of Beethoven.

We spoke with Julia Gerlach, the head of music at the Akademie der Künste Berlin and the director of Labor Beethoven 2020, to find out more about some of the musical experimentation that has grown out of the celebration and how this benefits the composer’s legacy.

Produced by Sylvia Cunningham