Mahler creates worlds. Each brings a musical feast. “Das Lied von der Erde” (The Song of the Earth), performed at the Berlin Philharmonic under Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo brought us another one. The “superstitious” Mahler did not want to label this work the Ninth, since both Beethoven and Schubert died after writing theirs, so he called it a symphony {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under Karina Canellakis takes on the works of Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Robin de Raaff, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Liv Redpath and Netherlands Radio Choir are also featured. Performance Date: August 31, 2025 The Collegium Vocale Gent, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, and Philippe {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced its 2024-25 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Jonathan Nott conducts pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and the Ernst Senff Chor Berlin choir in works by Missy Mazzoli, Peter Eötvös, and Charles Ives. Performance Dates: Sept. 7 & 8, 2024 Jakub Józef Orliński is joined by Aleksander Dębicz, Wojciech Gumiński, Marcin Ułanowski, and Mateusz {…}
(Photo: Stefan Höderath) The Board of Trustees of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation has approved the extension of Andrea Zietzschmann’s contract as Artistic Director. Zietzschmann will now lead the orchestra’s foundation for three more years, until summer 2028. Zietzschmann first took the position of Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation in September 2017. With teh extension, there will continuity and {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced a cast change for its New Year’s Eve concert. The orchestra noted, “Georg Zeppenfeld has unfortunately had to cancel his appearance as Hunding in the concert performance of the first act of ‘Die Walküre’ in the remaining two New Year’s Eve concerts of the Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of Kirill Petrenko.” It added, “The {…}
Berlin’s opera houses and orchestras have released statement against anti-semitism in reaction to current events and in commemoration of tomorrow’s 85th anniversary of the November pogroms in Germany. It also calls for peaceful co-existence. The statement reads, “Berlin’s major orchestras and three opera houses call on all Berliners to take a stand against anti-Semitism and hatred. Even in turbulent times, {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced its 2023-24 Season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Iván Fischer conducts Michael Nagy in works by Jörg Widmann and Gustav Mahler. Performance Date: August 26, 2023 Alexander Rudin, Alexander Melnikov, Nadezhda Pavlova, and Olga Pashchenko perform works by Sergei Rachmaninov. Performance Date: August 27, 2023 Robin Ticciati conducts Wu Wei Sheng, Karen {…}
Vineta Sareika-Völkner has won the audition for the position of first concertmaster with the Berlin Philharmonic. The news marks the first time a woman holds this position in the orchestra’s history. Sareika-Völkner is a Latvian violinist who studied at the Paris Conservatoire National under Gérard Poulet and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium under Augustin Dumay. She has {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic will return to Salzburg Easter Festival starting in 2026. The news comes as the orchestra announced that 2025 will be its last year at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival. In a statement, Nikolaus Bachler said “the Salzburg Easter Festival will once again have a permanent resident orchestra from 2026: the Berlin Philharmonic. Herbert von Karajan founded the Easter {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic is set to celebrate the New Year with a gala concert featuring Jonas Kaufmann. The gala will be performed three times from Dec. 29 through 31 and will be televised, broadcast on radio, and in cinemas. The concert will be broadcast on the Berlin Philharmonic’s Live in the Digital Concert Hall platform and will receive a free {…}
The Berlin Philharmonic has announced a cast change for Oct. 20, 21, and 22 concerts. The orchestra said, that soprano Julie Fuchs, unfortunately, had to cancel her participation in the concerts under the baton of François-Xavier Roth due to illness. As a result, her part in Claude Debussy’s “La Damoiselle élue” will be taken over by Anna Prohaska. A press release {…}