Classical concerts featuring

Berliner Philharmoniker

Guest performance Bologna

The Berliner Philharmoniker will also be stopping off in Bologna as part of their European concert tour of Italy. Conducted by Riccardo Muti, they invite you to a concert with an attractive Italian-German programme. Rossini’s rousing overture to William Tell and the atmospheric ballet music from Verdi's opera The Sicilian Vespers bring Italian flair to the stage. Brahms’ Second Symphony provides an exciting contrast – a work full of cantabile melodies, pastoral moods and darkly coloured timbres, which is considered the epitome of German late Romanticism.

Seong-Jin Cho performs Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto

Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.

Seong-Jin Cho performs Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto

Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.

Seong-Jin Cho performs Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto

Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.

Romantic music with Zubin Mehta and Himari

Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Conductor Zubin Mehta has included two further Romantic works on the programme: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist.

Romantic music with Zubin Mehta and Himari

Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Conductor Zubin Mehta has included two further Romantic works on the programme: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist.

Romantic music with Zubin Mehta and Himari

Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Conductor Zubin Mehta has included two further Romantic works on the programme: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist.

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Concertante: Kirill Petrenko with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”

For her it is true love, for him just an affair. Giacomo Puccini transformed John Luther Long’s 1898 story of teenaged geisha Cio-Cio-San and cavalier American naval lieutenant Pinkerton into one of the most popular operas of all time – and a commentary on colonialism that remains ripe for re-examination. His music reflects both the orientalism of his time and the sentimentality of late verismo. After leading staged performances in Baden-Baden, Kirill Petrenko presents Madama Butterfly in concert to the Berlin public. The title role will be sung by Eleonora Buratto, who was celebrated for her performance of this part at the New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Star tenor Jonathan Tetelman takes the role of Pinkerton.

Concertante: Kirill Petrenko with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”

For her it is true love, for him just an affair. Giacomo Puccini transformed John Luther Long’s 1898 story of teenaged geisha Cio-Cio-San and cavalier American naval lieutenant Pinkerton into one of the most popular operas of all time – and a commentary on colonialism that remains ripe for re-examination. His music reflects both the orientalism of his time and the sentimentality of late verismo. After leading staged performances in Baden-Baden, Kirill Petrenko presents Madama Butterfly in concert to the Berlin public. The title role will be sung by Eleonora Buratto, who was celebrated for her performance of this part at the New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Star tenor Jonathan Tetelman takes the role of Pinkerton.

Europakonzert Riccardo Muti and the Berliner Philharmoniker in Bari

With its brick-red façade, a gleaming white entrance area and a magnificent red and gold auditorium, the venue for this year’s European Concert, Bari’s Teatro Petruzzelli, is an architectural jewel. Under the direction of Riccardo Muti, the Berliner Philharmoniker will present a mixed programme of Italian and German music. Rossini’s rousing William Tell Overture and the atmospheric ballet music from Verdi’s opera The Sicilian Vespers exude Italianità. Completing the programme, the dusky mixture of yearning and consolation in Brahms’ Second Symphony make the work a seminal example of late German Romanticism.

Guest performance Bologna

The Berliner Philharmoniker will also be stopping off in Bologna as part of their European concert tour of Italy. Conducted by Riccardo Muti, they invite you to a concert with an attractive Italian-German programme. Rossini’s rousing overture to William Tell and the atmospheric ballet music from Verdi's opera The Sicilian Vespers bring Italian flair to the stage. Brahms’ Second Symphony provides an exciting contrast – a work full of cantabile melodies, pastoral moods and darkly coloured timbres, which is considered the epitome of German late Romanticism.

Daniel Barenboim conducts Mahler

Throughout the 60-year span of his collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim has never conducted the music of Gustav Mahler. Until now. Two late works can be heard, beginning with the expressive Adagio from the unfinished Tenth Symphony. Painful melancholy prevails here, as it does in Das Lied von der Erde (Songs of the Earth), which looks back on the lost beauty of life. Formally located between a song cycle and a symphony, this work was, according to Mahler, “probably the most personal thing I have done so far”.

Daniel Barenboim conducts Mahler

Throughout the 60-year span of his collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim has never conducted the music of Gustav Mahler. Until now. Two late works can be heard, beginning with the expressive Adagio from the unfinished Tenth Symphony. Painful melancholy prevails here, as it does in Das Lied von der Erde (Songs of the Earth), which looks back on the lost beauty of life. Formally located between a song cycle and a symphony, this work was, according to Mahler, “probably the most personal thing I have done so far”.

Daniel Barenboim conducts Mahler

Throughout the 60-year span of his collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim has never conducted the music of Gustav Mahler. Until now. Two late works can be heard, beginning with the expressive Adagio from the unfinished Tenth Symphony. Painful melancholy prevails here, as it does in Das Lied von der Erde (Songs of the Earth), which looks back on the lost beauty of life. Formally located between a song cycle and a symphony, this work was, according to Mahler, “probably the most personal thing I have done so far”.

Kirill Petrenko with Mahler’s Ninth

The Ninth Symphony is Gustav Mahler’s last completed work – an expressive farewell and at the same time a visionary anticipation of musical modernism. Since Mahler did not live to see the premiere of his Ninth, he could not complete his customary final revisions of the instrumental balance. “This provides a special challenge for all those who interpret this musical testament when examining the musical text,” says Kirill Petrenko. He is joined in this delicate task by the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Kirill Petrenko with Mahler’s Ninth

The Ninth Symphony is Gustav Mahler’s last completed work – an expressive farewell and at the same time a visionary anticipation of musical modernism. Since Mahler did not live to see the premiere of his Ninth, he could not complete his customary final revisions of the instrumental balance. “This provides a special challenge for all those who interpret this musical testament when examining the musical text,” says Kirill Petrenko. He is joined in this delicate task by the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Mahler Festival: Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker: Symphony No. 9

One of the world's most legendary orchestras, the Berliner Philharmoniker, has been led by Kirill Petrenko for several years. Upon his appointment, Die Welt called him 'the world's most unknown famous conductor'. Petrenko hardly ever gives interviews, so he can totally focus on the music. Today, that music comes from a man who once also conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker: Gustav Mahler. You will hear the Ninth Symphony.'Youth gone, love blown away', Mahler noted in the score of his Ninth Symphony. Like no other work in his 'small family' of symphonies, the Ninth treats extremes. It is a farewell to life, but at the same time an ode to its beauty. Presence, absence, even of sounds: Mahler plays with them, with picture-perfect results. Sometimes called the 'completion of Romanticism', the symphony was the last one Mahler would complete.

Mahler Festival: Daniel Barenboim, Berliner Philharmoniker - Symphony No. 10 & Das Lied von der Erde

One of the world's most legendary orchestras, the Berliner Philharmoniker, will be led by Daniel Barenboim on the final night of the Mahler Festival. 'The Tenth is and remains music of the future,' the legendary pianist and conductor says of Mahler's swan song. He also conducts the impressive non-symphony Das Lied von der Erde. Vocal soloists in Das Lied are Dorottya Láng and Benjamin Bruns.The world is turning - roughly the tenor of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. In texts inspired by Chinese poems, life is seen as a continuous stage of transition. In both this work and the Tenth Symphony, the idea of mortality played a major role. Mahler knew he was incurably ill, and had also lost his infant daughter. He had lost everything and had to 'learn to walk like a newborn again', he wrote to a friend. That did not come to pass. Of the Tenth Symphony, he completed only the stirring Adagio, performed tonight by the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Guest performance Brussels Kirill Petrenko with Mahler’s Ninth

The Ninth Symphony is Gustav Mahler’s last completed work – an expressive farewell and at the same time a visionary anticipation of musical modernism. Since Mahler did not live to see the premiere of his Ninth, he could not complete his customary final revisions of the instrumental balance. “This provides a special challenge for all those who interpret this musical testament when examining the musical text,” says Kirill Petrenko. He is joined in this delicate task by the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Berliner Philharmoniker | Kirill Petrenko

While composing his Ninth Symphony, Gustav Mahler declared, "I am thirstier for life than ever." The Berlin Philharmonic, under Kirill Petrenko, explores this tension-filled work. Despite moments of defiance, rawness, and humor, the grand apotheotic breakthroughs of earlier symphonies fade. The sound becomes increasingly gentle, transparent, and finally dissolves into peaceful acceptance.

Guest performance Kirill Petrenko with Mahler’s Ninth

The Ninth Symphony is Gustav Mahler’s last completed work – an expressive farewell and at the same time a visionary anticipation of musical modernism. Since Mahler did not live to see the premiere of his Ninth, he could not complete his customary final revisions of the instrumental balance. “This provides a special challenge for all those who interpret this musical testament when examining the musical text,” says Kirill Petrenko. He is joined in this delicate task by the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Kirill Petrenko Berliner Philharmoniker

Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2019/20, directs Mahler's 9th Symphony in Essen. Born in Omsk, Petrenko strives for a unique orchestral sound, evident in his interpretation of Mahler's final completed work, a magical piece bridging Romantic and modern eras.