Following proposed budget cuts on Sept. 19, 2024, due to a budget emergency of the State of Berlin and the necessary and drastic savings requirements in 2025 and 2026, including for the cultural budget, numerous cultural figures in Berlin have released statements appealing to the senate.

Joana Mallwitz, chief conductor and artistic director of the Konzerthausorchester said, “We should all realise by now that we need to strengthen the core of our society and its cohesion, and that we need to give our cultural identity a positive image. So our aim must be to make it even easier to have access to music and culture. The damage that would be caused by cuts to the cultural budget would be immense and would not only severely affect us as a cultural organisation, but also jeopardise the cohesion of our society as a whole.”

Berlin Philharmonic Cheif Conductor Kirill Petrenko added, “If we want to maintain Berlin’s extremely important cultural diversity and continue to attract the best in their field from all disciplines, we must not tamper with the financial foundations of our institutiuons, let alone call their very existence into question.”

The Berlin State Opera’s Music Director Christian Thielemann noted, “Berlin’s classical music scene is unrivalled, and has a worldwide reputation. In addition to concerts in the city, we all contribute to making Berlin synonymous with cultural excellence through our tours and media broadcasts. Do the politicians really want to allow such a devastating message to be sent out from Berlin to the rest of the country?”

Finally in a joint statement intendants from the Komische Oper Berlin, Konzerthaus Berlin, Rundfunk Orchester, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Staatsballett Berlin,  Stiftung Oper in Berlin, and Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker said “Culture is the heart of Berlin – it attracts people from all over the world, is an important economic factor, creates jobs and makes our city worth living in. Our city’s cultural institutions are not only places of art with international appeal, but are also urgently needed to maintain Berlin’s reputation as a location for business. One thing is clear: cuts in the cultural sector would massively damage the city of Berlin in the long term.”

The Deutsche Oper Berlin also released an open letter and petition noting that cuts of 110 to 150 million euros would be tantamount to an eradication of culture in Berlin and the funded opera houses, concert halls, and theatres would be forced to suspend productions and performances that have already been planned and contractually agreed. The letter also noted that cuts in project-related funding would affect the most vulnerable areas of the independent scene and the performing arts, literature, the visual arts, dance, and cultural education.

The open letter and petition are signed by such artists as Christian Thielemann, Rolando Villazon, Evelyn Herlitzius, Daniel Barenboim, Martin Muehle and Joana Mallwitz, among others.

The petition can be signed here.