The Berliner Philharmoniker at the Waldbühne: musical highlights from all over the world

Every year since 1984, the Berliner Philharmoniker have invited more than 20,000 people to the Waldbühne for a joyous end to the season with – hopefully – good weather. In the atmospheric open-air setting, the orchestra and star guests delight audiences with programmes that offer a captivating variety: from classical symphonies, opera arias and virtuoso pieces to jazz and film music. Our playlist brings together highlights from this special concert series.

The open-air theatre in the west of Berlin was built at the behest of the National Socialist regime and was initially used as a venue for the 1936 Olympic Games. After this tainted beginning, civil society appropriated the venue for more peaceful purposes. Today, the Waldbühne offers a magnificent venue for classical concerts in the open air. In 1984, the Berliner Philharmoniker brought the season to a close for the first time at this special venue in a concert entitled Berliner Sommernacht – establishing a popular tradition that continues to this day.

In addition to the chief conductors of the Berliner Philharmoniker, popular guests also regularly take up the baton. Gustavo Dudamel even made his debut with the orchestra here in 2008. Our playlist features chief conductor Kirill Petrenko with Ravel’s ecstatic Boléro as well as star pianist Yuja Wang with Prokofiev, Claudio Abbado with music from his native Italy, Seiji Ozawa with the jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue, and Sir Simon Rattle with John William’s theme from Star Wars. Soprano Renée Fleming’s performance of Antonín Dvořák’s enchanting Song to the Moon shows that lyrical and subtle pieces also come into their own at the Waldbühne in addition to lively works.

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