The “Late Night” concerts with discoveries for night owls

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  • Kurt Weill
    “Youkali” · “Je ne t’aime pas” · “Lost in the Stars” (14 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

  • Leonard Bernstein
    Prelude, Fugue and Riffs (11 min.)

    Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

    Andreas Ottensamer Clarinet

  • Igor Stravinsky
    Concerto in E flat “Dumbarton Oaks” for chamber orchestra (17 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

  • Luciano Berio
    Sequenza V for trombone (9 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

    Olaf Ott Trombone

  • Manuel de Falla
    El retablo de maese Pedro (Master Peter’s Puppet Show), opera (31 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

    Josep-Miquel Ramón Bass-Baritone (Don Quijote), Florian Hoffmann Tenor (Maese Pedro), Silvia Schwartz Soprano (Trujamán)

  • György Ligeti
    Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists (20 min.)

    Scharoun Ensemble Berlin

    Matthias Pintscher

  • Maurice Delage
    Quatre Poèmes hindous for soprano and instrumental ensemble (12 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

  • Henri Dutilleux
    Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher for solo cello (12 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

    Solène Kermarrec Cello

  • William Walton
    Façade for reciter and six instruments (47 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

  • Luciano Berio
    Sequenza III for female voice (10 min.)

    Karajan Academy

    Sir Simon Rattle

    Magdalena Kožená Mezzo-Soprano

  • Betsy Jolas
    Ruht wohl for viola and piano (7 min.)

    Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker

    Sir Simon Rattle

    Máté Szűcs Viola, Sir Simon Rattle Piano

They are nocturnal entertainments for fans of the bizarre, the baffling, anarchic and dreamy: the Late Night Concerts of the Berliner Philharmoniker, in which members of the orchestra regularly serve dessert after a symphony concert. Sometimes they sound jazzy, sometimes sentimental, and one frequently hears how humorous contemporary music can be.

Guest conductors and soloists always rave about the fact that the members of the Berliner Philharmoniker play as though they were performing chamber music together, even in large-scale works. And the orchestra is actually made up of gifted soloists and chamber music experts. The Late Night series launched by Simon Rattle provides them with a forum to display their talents in the great hall of the Philharmonie, but outside the usual concert routine. Whether works for solo instrument or chamber orchestra are presented during the late-night appearances, whether a vocal scene or jazz music with a big-band sound is heard – the works, which are often very new, expose the audience to unconventional music.

Who has heard the poetic yet humorous chamber opera based on Don Quixote, El retablo de maese Pedro by Manuel de Falla or the atmospheric and exotic Quatre Poèmes hindous by Ravel’s student Maurice Delage? Members of the Philharmoniker like principal trombonist Olaf Ott and cellist Solène Kermarrec perform musically and technically demanding solo works by Luciano Berio and Henri Dutilleux. During Late Night concerts listeners also often have the opportunity to hear Simon Rattle at the piano, for example, in Kurt Weill songs interpreted by Barbara Hannigan or in a short piece by Betsy Jolas, as the 90-year-old French composer sat in the audience.

During the concerts Sir Simon and the orchestra members – also in the form of Philharmoniker chamber ensembles – are frequently joined by well-known guest artists, such as the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená or Matthias Pintscher, one of the most successful composers and conductors of the younger generation. A work from Rattle’s native England proved to be a hit with the audience: William Walton’s Façade, subtitled “An Entertainment”, in which the wonderful soprano Barbara Hannigan alternated with Simon Rattle as reciter and conductor – hilarious and “very British”.