“The focus is on the innovative engagement with the city’s famous composers – Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann.” This is one of the goals for the field of music in the cultural concept of the city of Bonn. This consonance of the composer in an official governmental paper would have been unthinkable years ago, but today it can certainly be seen as a significant success of the Bonn Schumann Festival.

The Bonn Schumann Festival, founded in 1998 by Andreas Etienne and Markus Schuck, today’s festival director, was called “Endenicher Herbst” in its beginnings. It had its roots in the Bonn district of Endenich around the Schumannhaus, a district that has the largest density of cultural sites in the federal city of Bonn. 2007, the name change to Schumannfest, to illustrate the core concerns of the festival: the memory of Robert and Clara Schumann. Robert Schumann spent his last two years in Bonn, on the Old Cemetery in Bonn is the grave of Robert and Clara Schumann.

The Schumannfest is an honorary organized festival with a highly professional claim. With a diverse program that includes classical music, jazz, rock, film, cabaret, dance and literature, it finds national and international attention far beyond Bonn’s borders. A special feature of the festival is the cooperation with young artists: the Schumann Festival sees itself as a young festival and gives a stage especially to young artists who are possibly at the beginning of a great career.

Whether a church or chamber choir, shanty tunes, gospel, folk songs or American barbershop, many Bonn residents like to spend their spare time lifting their voices and getting together to sing. An overview of choirs and their contact information can be found in the directory of associations.

The  Bonn English singers (opens in a new tab) have an international membership and specialise in English language choral music, both sacred and secular.

Jazzfest Bonn has been running since 2010, with every single style represented. The annual festival is usually held in May. More information can be found at  Jazzfest Bonn (opens in a new tab)

There are plenty of other opportunities to hear music, such as on various Sundays during the summer on the roof of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany (Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) and on Friday evenings in the Rheinaue Park beer garden. There is also often jazz being played in the park as part of the „Musik im Park“ series.

With the Jazz Tube Festival, Stadtwerke Bonn brings music and life to selected underground stations and invites commuters on a musical journey. 

The Bonn Classical Philharmonic was founded in 1986. It grew out of the Chur Cölnisches Orchester, an extended chamber orchestra with woodwind. The orchestra currently numbers up to 60 players, and their repertoire ranges from baroque to modern. The core of the orchestra's programming, as demonstrated by its name, is works by the „First Viennese School“ of the Classical period - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven - but also works by their contemporaries, pupils, and disciples.

Stars of the national and international rock and pop scene often stop off in Bonn. Major concert venues include: