Our latest 10 concerts:
Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kožená at the Waldbühne
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
A celebratory finale to an era with the Berliner Philharmoniker. With this concert at the Waldbühne, Sir Simon Rattle’s tenure as chief conductor of the orchestra ends after 16 years. It is a colourful, sparkling farewell – with works by Gershwin, Fauré, Khachaturian and Respighi. The star guest is Sir Simon’s wife, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, who sings excerpts from Joseph Canteloube’s charming Chants d’Auvergne.
24 Jun 2018
From the Berlin WaldbühneBerliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon RattleMagdalena Kožená
George Gershwin
Cuban OvertureGabriel Fauré
PavaneJoseph Canteloube (de Malaret)
Chants d’Auvergne (Selection)Magdalena Kožená mezzo-soprano
Aram Chatschaturjan
Gayane Suite No. 3: No. 2 Dance of the Young KurdsAram Chatschaturjan
Gayane Suite No. 1: No. 7 Adagio of GayaneAram Chatschaturjan
Gayane Suite No. 1: No. 8 LezginkaOttorino Respighi
Pini di RomaClaudio Monteverdi
“Si dolce è’l tormento”, madrigal for solo voice and basso continuo, SV 332Magdalena Kožená mezzo-soprano
Edward Elgar
Pomp and Circumstance, op. 39: March No. 1John Philip Sousa
The Liberty BellPaul Lincke
Berliner Luft
Simon Rattle’s farewell with Mahler’s Sixth
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
On 14 November 1987, a promising conductor made his Berliner Philharmoniker debut with Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony: Simon Rattle. In retrospect Rattle says, “I felt that I was finding my voice on that day.” Mahler’s multifaceted work was also on the programme when Sir Simon gave his last concert in the Philharmonie as the orchestra’s chief conductor. The wheel comes full circle.
20 Jun 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon RattleGustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6- free
Interview
Sir Simon Rattle on Mahler’s Sixth Symphony
Krystian Zimerman and Simon Rattle perform Bernstein’s “The Age of Anxiety”
As chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle has impressively shown again and again what variety and richness are couched in the term “modern music” – and he does so again at this concert. We hear three short premieres, enter the world of film and television with Robin Hood and Tom and Jerry, and experience Bernstein’s jazz-influenced Second Symphony, with world star Krystian Zimerman as piano soloist.
16 Jun 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon RattleKrystian Zimerman
Leonard Bernstein
Symphony No. 2 The Age of Anxiety for Piano and OrchestraKrystian Zimerman piano
Magnus Lindberg
Agile for orchestra commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker PremièreAndrew Norman
Spiral for orchestra commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation PremièreBrett Dean
Notturno inquieto commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation PremièreScott Bradley
Tom and JerryErich Wolfgang Korngold
The Adventures of Robin Hood Symphonic Portrait for Orchestra, arr. by John Mauceri (Excerpts)
Simon Rattle conducts Brahms, Lutosławski and Widmann
This concert is almost a condensed retrospective of the Rattle era. For example, Sir Simon’s enthusiasm for contemporary music is revealed in the premiere of a short work by Jörg Widmann; in Lutosławski’s Third Symphony, on the other hand, he once again shows what imaginative music the 20th century has left behind, and finally, Rattle’s continuous work on the great classics of the repertoire is represented by Brahms’s First Symphony.
27 May 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon RattleJörg Widmann
Tanz auf dem Vulkan, commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation PremièreWitold Lutosławski
Symphony No. 3Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68- free
Interview
Jörg Widmann on Tanz auf dem Vulkan
Simon Rattle conducts the completed Ninth Symphony by Anton Bruckner
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
Simon Rattle is certain that if Anton Bruckner had lived only two months longer, he would have been able to complete the finale of his Ninth Symphony. In a sensational concert in 2011, Rattle presented a reconstruction of “monolithic, threatening presence” (Gramophone magazine), based on Bruckner’s extensive sketches. As a central work of the Rattle era, the completed symphony can now be heard again.
26 May 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon RattleHans Abrahamsen
Three Pieces for Orchestra, commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation PremièreAnton Bruckner
Symphony No. 9 with the completed performance version of the 4th Movement by Samale-Phillips-Cohrs-Mazzuca (1985-2008/rev. 2010)- free
Interview
Sir Simon Rattle on the completed Ninth Symphony of Anton Bruckner (2012)
Simon Rattle conducts a hundred amateur musicians in the BE PHIL Orchestra
The performance by the BE PHIL Orchestra is one of the most moving projects of the Simon Rattle era. On 21 May 2018, amateur musicians from 30 countries played Johannes Brahms’s First Symphony under the direction of Sir Simon – with great musicality and, above all, unparalleled enthusiasm. For all of them, the concert was an unforgettable experience that once again demonstrated the power that music has to unite people from all over the world.
21 May 2018BE PHIL Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle- free
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, op. 68 - free
Impressions from the 2018 Open Day
- free
The BE PHIL Orchestra – a project with amateur musicians from 30 countries
Mikko Franck conducts Schumann’s “Paradise and the Peri”
It was one of the great choral works of the 19th century: Robert Schumann’s Paradise and the Peri. The piece has everything that makes up a grandiose, Romantic vocal work: effective choral scenes, lyrical, lieder-like solo numbers, and an instrumental ensemble that shows Schumann at the height of his orchestration skills. The Berliner Philharmoniker perform the work under the baton of Mikko Franck, who is standing in for Simon Rattle.
19 May 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Mikko FranckSally Matthews, Mark Padmore, Anna Prohaska, Gerhild Romberger, Andrew Staples, Christian Gerhaher
Robert Schumann
Paradise and the Peri, op. 50: Part 1 & 2Sally Matthews soprano (Peri), Mark Padmore tenor (Narrator), Anna Prohaska soprano (The Maiden), Gerhild Romberger contralto (The Angel), Andrew Staples tenor (The Young Man), Christian Gerhaher baritone (Gazna), Rundfunkchor Berlin, Gijs Leenaars chorus master
Robert Schumann
Paradise and the Peri, op. 50: Part 3Sally Matthews soprano (Peri), Mark Padmore tenor (Narrator), Anna Prohaska soprano (The Maiden), Gerhild Romberger contralto (The Angel), Andrew Staples tenor (The Young Man), Christian Gerhaher baritone (Gazna), Rundfunkchor Berlin, Gijs Leenaars chorus master
Robert Schumann
Paradise and the Peri, op. 50: Part 1 & 2 (english subtitles)Robert Schumann
Paradise and the Peri, op. 50: Part 3 (english subtitles)- free
Interview
Mikko Franck in conversation with Matthew Hunter
Sing along and have fun!
In this concert, sitting still is not allowed! – for as soon as the music starts, the education programme’s vocal heroes choirs, under the direction of their choral conductors Carolin Strecker, Tobias Walenciak and Johannes Wolff, invite Berlin school classes to join them together in the Philharmonie – and everyone is expected to join in the fun! Sing along!
18 May 2018Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Vocal Heroes
- free
Vokalhelden-Schulklassenkonzert
Vocal Heroes, Carolin Strecker Chorleitung, Tobias Walenciak Chorleitung, Johannes Wolff Chorleitung, Mark Wyand saxophone and clarinet, Peter Schindler piano, Arne Jansen guitar, Esko Laine double bass, Franz Schindlbeck drums
Tugan Sokhiev and Yefim Bronfman perform Beethoven
Photo: Stephan Rabold
Tugan Sokhiev, chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, conducts two of the most popular works of the Russian repertoire at this concert, which opens with Prokofiev’s ardent Symphony No. 1, inspired by the First Viennese School. In contrast, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition depicts Russian scenes and legends with incomparable atmospheric and musical intensity. The soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is Yefim Bronfman.
12 May 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Tugan SokhievYefim Bronfman
Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony No. 1 in D major, op. 25 Symphonie classiqueLudwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C minor, op. 37Yefim Bronfman piano
Robert Schumann
Arabesque in C major, op. 18Yefim Bronfman piano
Modest Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Maurice Ravel)- free
Interview
Tugan Sokhiev in conversation with Amihai Grosz
Paavo Järvi and Lisa Batiashvili with Sibelius’s Violin Concerto
Photo: Monika Rittershaus
“The first notes of Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto rarely shine simultaneously as clearly and as focused as with Lisa Batiashvili,” was what Bayerischer Rundfunk said in its review. The Georgian violinist, who in this concert stands in for the indisposed Janine Jansen, presents the darkly timbred work, whose free, rhapsodic form requires most creative of skills. Paavo Järvi also conducts Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony, which reflects the horrors of the Stalin era with brooding resignation and grotesque savagery.
06 May 2018Berliner Philharmoniker
Paavo JärviLisa Batiashvili
Jean Sibelius
Night Ride and Sunrise, Symphonic Poem, op. 55Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto in D minor, op. 47Lisa Batiashvili violin
Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 54- free
Interview
Paavo Järvi in conversation with Emmanuel Pahud
