Sights of Europe. Berlin Philharmonic

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Berlin Philharmonic, opened in October 1963, is one of the most famous concert halls in the world thanks to the highest level of team and orchestra working in it. The very architecture of the Philharmonic also contributes to its popularity. Photos of the Berlin Philharmonic interest people no less than announcements and descriptions of events taking place on its stage.

History of the creation of the Philharmonic

The need for a new building for the main musical group in Germany arose after the end of World War II, during which the former building of the Philharmonic was wiped off the face of the city by British bombers.

The greatest representative of the organic style in architecture, Hans Scharun, who also built the German embassy in Brazil, worked on the implementation of a new complex project in the Tiergarten garden.

The entire Berlin Philharmonic is a single hall in the form of a pentagon, in the center of which there is a stage surrounded on all sides by audience rows, which are located on terraces hanging over each otherfriend, like grapes. A feature is also that the distances between the rows are not the same and change as you move away from the stage.

Architecture of the Philharmonic

The architectural design of the auditorium of the Berlin Philharmonic served as a model for many later buildings of a similar purpose. For example, for the Sydney Opera House, built in 1973, the Denver Concert Hall, built in 1978, and for the new Paris Philharmonic, opened in 2014.

Thanks to the highest acoustic qualities of the hall, it has become a place for recording the world's best bands. The hall was appreciated by such musicians as Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and many others.

During the long history of the Philharmonic, there were also emergencies in it. In May 2008, a fire broke out in the building of the Berlin Philharmonic. Its cause was recognized as inaccurate welding work. Special foam was used to extinguish the fire, but despite the efforts of firefighters to reduce the damage, a quarter of the roof of the building was damaged, and the hall was recognized as "heavily damaged." However, repairs were carried out promptly and the next concert was held as planned on 20 June. The San Francisco Symphony played that day.

Philharmonic Orchestra: Beginning

However, no matter how beautiful the building of the Berlin Philharmonic may be, it is only a worthy concert hall for one of the best musical groups in Europe. ATIn 2006, the leading European media put the orchestra on the third line in the list of the ten best music bands in Europe. In 2008, the Philharmonic Orchestra was named one of the top three orchestras by the Music Critics Association.

All these ratings reflect the rich history of the band itself, founded in 1882. It is believed that the beginning of a new musical group was laid when 54 musicians from the Bilse group had a conflict with the administration. The reason for the quarrel was that for the group's tour to Warsaw, tickets were bought in the fourth class of the train. This is how one of the most famous musical groups in Europe appeared.

First Concert Hall

The first own concert hall at the Berlin Philharmonic appeared already in 1882 in the Kreuzberg district. The first Philharmonic hall appeared thanks to the genius of the German architect Franz Herbert Schwechten, who managed to organically adapt the building of the former skating rink to the needs of a fastidious creative team. This building remained in use until January 3, 1944, when it was destroyed by Allied bombing.

The then-famous conductor Ludwig von Brenner became the first leader of the new orchestra. By the time he was appointed to Berlin, the graduate of the Leipzig Conservatory had worked in the Russian Empire, as well as in various cities of his homeland.

In 1887 he was replaced by Hans von Bülow. Until 1887, Bülow managed to earn a reputation as a musical prodigy, a talented leader and director. However, in 1893 he leftthis honorary post, and was replaced by Arthur Nikisch.

Von Karajan era

In 1954, Herbert von Karajan took over as musical director of the Berlin Philharmonic, becoming one of the greatest conductors and artistic directors in the history of the Philharmonic.

As a member of the NSDAP, Karajan actively worked in Germany, which later affected his post-war career when the Soviet authorities, who liberated Austria, banned his activities in Vienna. Soon, however, the conductor returned to his main activity, when in 1948 he headed the Vienna Society of Friends of Music. At the same time, he conducted at Milan's La Scala.

However, von Karajan's truly great period of creativity began when he was appointed lifelong director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, as successor to Wilhelm Furtwängler.

In addition to the actual high-quality performance of the most complex musical works, Karayan's fame was also brought by sound recording, an active devotee of which he remained until his death, striving to contribute as much as possible to the spread of quality music performed by his orchestra. Von Karajan became one of the best conductors of the Berlin Philharmonic.