Biennale of the Berliner Philharmoniker Piano recital with Alexander Melnikov

Family concert of the Biennale “Pastorale”

In this series, the Berliner Philharmoniker and guests spark enthusiasm for classical music and take a closer look at the art of composing. In moderated concerts, they demonstrate the sound colours of the instruments or show how nature can sound.

Biennale »Paradise lost?« “The Four Seasons” with the Freiburger Barockorchester

Matinee of the Friends of the Berliner Philharmoniker e. V. “Introduced: New Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker”

A welcome matineeEvery orchestra is a living organism and is constantly changing: With the Berliner Philharmoniker, too, familiar faces leave and retire year after year. New musicians come in their place - and many of them quickly become audience favourites. We would like to use the summer matinee to introduce you to some of these newcomers. Among them is first principal viola Diyang Mei, who has already made history by being the first Chinese to join the orchestra. He has lived in Germany since 2014, where he won the prestigious ARD Music Competition in 2018. You can also look forward to the new principal timpanist, the young Austrian Vincent Vogel, who inherited his teacher Rainer Seegers in this position in 2022: almost a Philharmoniker dynasty. A total of four new members will be available to answer questions at this welcome matinee. And, of course, they will also inspire you with their instrumental skills.

Joana Mallwitz makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.

Joana Mallwitz makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.

Joana Mallwitz makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.

Matinée of the Friends of the Berliner Philharmoniker e. V. The Queen of instruments

The organ in the Philharmonie, which was built in 1965 by the Schuke organ builders, is one of the most important concert hall organs in the world, with its 6,500 pipes and 90 stops. It is not only heard in symphonic repertoire, in works such as Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, but also in the popular series of organ matinées presented by internationally acclaimed virtuosos. This instrument is one of the Friends’ most important projects: they financed a complete refurbishment between 2010 and 2012. During the past season, however, the electronic system, with which the various stops are called up in a matter of seconds, refused to do its job. Since entire key segments failed and the instrument could no longer be used, a renovation was urgently needed: it will be carried out during the summer break in 2023 and again financed by the Friends. At this organ matinée, we would like to present the “queen of instruments” with its new brilliance and sound – and offer you an exciting look at what goes on inside.

“The 75th birthday” ‒ A matinee to celebrate the Friends of the Berliner Philharmoniker association

A matinee to celebrate the association's anniversary75 years ago, on 17 October 1949, our association was founded. Its aim was to build a new concert hall for the Berliner Philharmoniker, who had become homeless during World War II. The “Friends” formed a large citizens' initiative and, with their contributions and donation campaigns, made a significant impact on the opening of the Philharmonie, which was designed by Hans Scharoun, in 1963. But there was still a lot to do afterwards: The chamber music hall opened its doors in 1987, the orchestra received valuable instruments, and many major projects such as the Philharmoniker's Europakonzert were realised with our support. We want to celebrate this round birthday: with prominent guests and, of course, with great music played by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Afterwards, we will celebrate the anniversary together in the foyer.

Artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho and members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

Artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho and members of the Berliner Philharmoniker unfold a panorama of Hungarian musical styles in this concert. Johannes Brahms was often inspired by Hungarian music in his works, for instance in the finale of his clarinet trio, which oscillates between deep emotion and serenity. The trio for violin, horn and piano, which the Hungarian György Ligeti wrote in homage to Brahms, is characterised by folk rhythms. The piano quintet by the young Béla Bartók, who would go on to revolutionise Hungarian music, is still very much rooted in the Romantic period. But even here – according to Seong-Jin Cho – you can sense “Bartók's musical future”.

Matinée of the Friends of the Berliner Philharmoniker e. V. “Music must enchant” ‒ A Maurice Ravel matinée

A Maurice Ravel matinéeHe is perhaps the most popular French composers: Maurice Ravel. Who doesn't know his Bolero, which presents a huge upward curve based on a distinct drum rhythm? The music always stays in time, as precise as a clockwork, but with its constantly expanding instrumentation and growing dynamics, it can either put us in a trance or ecstasy. It was not only with this work that Ravel achieved a real stroke of genius. This composer also allows us to dream nostalgically of times gone by and the paradise of childhood. With him, we can also look to the future and into other genres, as Ravel was one of the first to make jazz acceptable in classical music. On his 150th birthday, which the music world will celebrate on 7 March 2025, we want to honour Maurice Ravel with a musical and literary matinee that will take you through his life and present some of his most original chamber music works.