Light music and favourite works with the Berliner Philharmoniker In concerts by large symphony orchestras, it is often serious works that dominate. But striking a lighter tone is also an art in itself, and composers such as Mozart, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Gershwin were masters of this. Soon after the orchestra was founded, the Berliner Philharmoniker initiated a concert series of popular music, a tradition which can still be seen today, such as in the Waldbühne and New Year’s Eve Concerts. This playlist features a selection of particularly popular pieces ranging from the Baroque to the present day.
Bedřich Smetana The Bartered Bride : Overture Mariss Jansons Berliner Philharmoniker George Gershwin Girl Crazy : Overture Kirill Petrenko Berliner Philharmoniker John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine Alan Gilbert Berliner Philharmoniker Igor Stravinsky L’Oiseau de feu (The Firebird), suite (version form 1919): excerpts Claudio Abbado Berliner Philharmoniker George Frideric Handel Concerto grosso in G major HWV 319 Emmanuelle Haïm Berliner Philharmoniker Antonín Dvořák Slavonic Dances , op. 72: excerpts Sir Simon Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker Jean Sibelius Valse triste , op. 44 Daniel Barenboim Berliner Philharmoniker Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker , op. 71: Pas de deux Mariss Jansons Berliner Philharmoniker Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5: Adagietto Zubin Mehta Berliner Philharmoniker Dmitri Shostakovich Dance of the Dolls : Lyric Waltz (arr. Tamas Batiashvili) Iván Fischer Berliner Philharmoniker Lisa Batiashvili Violin George Gershwin “Fascinating Rhythm” Sir Simon Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker Wayne Marshall Piano Audra McDonald Vocalist Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings, op. 11 Kirill Petrenko Berliner Philharmoniker Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in D major, K. 382 Daniel Barenboim Berliner Philharmoniker Daniel Barenboim Klavier Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dances : No. 11 in D minor · No. 15 in B flat major (arr. Iván Fischer) Iván Fischer Berliner Philharmoniker Edvard Grieg Symphonic Dance in A major, op. 64 no. 2 Sir Simon Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker Georges Bizet L’Arlésienne , Suites Nos. 1 and 2: Carillon · Farandole Claudio Abbado Berliner Philharmoniker Richard Wagner Lohengrin : Prelude to Act 1 Christian Thielemann Berliner Philharmoniker Manuel de Falla El amor brujo (Love, the sorcerer), ballet music: Danza del Fuego Claudio Abbado Berliner Philharmoniker Stephen Sondheim A Little Night Music : “Send In The Clowns” Kirill Petrenko Berliner Philharmoniker Diana Damrau soprano Dmitri Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon , op. 90: Overture Sir Simon Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker Gabriel Fauré Pavane , op. 50 Sir Simon Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 in D major, op. 25 “Classique” Tugan Sokhiev Berliner Philharmoniker Heitor Villa-Lobos Bachianas brasileiras : No. 5 The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker Anna Prohaska soprano The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker Felix Mendelssohn The Hebrides , overture in B minor, op. 26 Pablo Heras-Casado Berliner Philharmoniker John Williams E.T. the Extra-Terrestial : Flying Theme Sir Simon Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker Leonard Bernstein West Side Story : Symphonic Dances Kirill Petrenko Berliner Philharmoniker 
