Berliner Philharmoniker
Beginnings
In spring 1882 Benjamin Bilse announced plans to take his already underpaid orchestra on a concert tour to Warsaw travelling in fourth class. For 54 of his musicians the moment had come to declare their independence as the 'former Bilse Kapelle'. At first the young ensemble had economic problems of its own to confront, and it was not until the Berlin concert agent Hermann Wolff took over its management in 1887 that a stable basis for the future was finally established. He changed the group’s name to the Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester, turned a renovated roller skating rink into the first Philharmonie and sought out the best conductors for his musicians.
The great orchestral trainers
Hans von Bülow had already turned his Meiningen Court Orchestra into a first-class ensemble when he took over the Berliner Philharmoniker. In only five years at the helm he laid the foundation for the special musical qualities that were to become inseparably linked with the orchestra’s name.
Bülow’s successors, on the other hand, came to stay. Arthur Nikisch, who took up his post in 1895, went on to influence the orchestra’s style decisively for the next 27 years. Nikisch once claimed that 'each and every member of a first-class orchestra has earned the title of ‘artist’,' and with this philosophy he gave the Berliner Philharmoniker the virtuosity and self-confidence that have become the orchestra’s hallmark.
If Bülow’s interpretations tended towards a somewhat analytical brilliance, Nikisch’s performances were full of sustained splendour and rich, warm sonorities, which he achieved with economical gestures and rhapsodic, almost improvisatory breadth. Thus, it is not surprising that the cornerstones of his repertoire were Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Liszt, Strauss, Mahler and Bruckner. Under his leadership the orchestra gained international stature, and major soloists flocked to Berlin to appear with the Philharmoniker.
When Nikisch died in 1922, the orchestra unanimously chose Wilhelm Furtwängler as his successor. The young conductor built on Nikisch’s achievements. His idiosyncratic conducting technique and impassioned, inspired music-making demanded an extremely high level of autonomy and sensitivity from the musicians. He and his Berlin orchestra became legendary interpreters of Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner. At the same time Furtwängler expanded the repertoire to include contemporary works by Schoenberg, Hindemith, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. Through tours abroad, the Philharmoniker established their international reputation as one of the finest orchestras in the world.
The turmoil of war
The National Socialist dictatorship and the war did irreparable damage to the German cultural landscape – and with it the Berliner Philharmoniker. The regime’s maniacal racial policy led to the loss of valuable musicians, and the orchestra was isolated from the international exchange of soloists and conductors. At the same time, the National Socialists turned Germany’s leading ensemble into an instrument of official cultural policy. Nevertheless, Furtwängler and the orchestra managed to carry the ensemble’s artistic substance through the war.
On 26 May 1945 the Philharmoniker gave their first post-war concert under Leo Borchard. The performance took place at the Titania Palast, a converted cinema. In August, Borchard was mistakenly shot by an occupying soldier, and an unknown young conductor, the Romanian Sergiu Celibidache, was appointed – more or less fresh from the music academy. The orchestra’s choice proved prescient. Celibidache’s passionate temperament and wide-ranging programming were inspirational. Wilhelm Furtwängler was not allowed to conduct the Philharmoniker again until after his denazification in 1947. He resumed leadership of the orchestra in 1952.
The Karajan era
Wilhelm Furtwängler died in November 1954. In April of the following year the Berliner Philharmoniker chose Herbert von Karajan as their artistic director. He would remain with the ensemble longer than any other conductor to date. He worked with the orchestra to cultivate a specific sound, an unprecedented perfection and virtuosity which laid the groundwork for its national and international successes – both in the concert hall and on countless recordings.
Moreover, Karajan expanded the ensemble’s activities in a number of new directions. With the founding of the Salzburg Easter Festival in 1967 the orchestra gained its own major international festival and an opportunity to make its mark in operatic circles. The founding of the Orchester-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker, in which young and talented instrumentalists are prepared to meet the stringent demands of a top-flight orchestra through practical experience, provided yet more room for development. The new Philharmonie was also constructed during the Karajan era. The orchestra has made its home in the concert hall designed by Hans Scharoun since October 1963, and a chamber music hall was added in 1987.
A new note – Claudio Abbado
Herbert von Karajan died in July 1989, after nearly 35 years as the orchestra’s artistic director. His successor was a familiar face. Claudio Abbado conducted the Philharmoniker for the first time in 1966 and had earned the musicians’ highest esteem in the intervening years. He is not an orchestral trainer in the manner of his predecessors but leads through the sheer force of his conviction and his artistic presence.
Abbado’s programmes brought a pronounced shift in emphasis. Each cycle of concerts was given a thematic focus – for example, 'Faust' or 'The Wanderer' or 'Music is Fun for All'. This conceptual modernization corresponded to a significant rejuvenation of the Philharmoniker themselves. Well over half of the current membership joined the orchestra during this time. In February 1998 Claudio Abbado announced that he would not renew his contract beyond the 2001/02 season, and in June of the following year the Berliner Philharmoniker elected a new chief conductor by a wide majority.
Sir Simon Rattle - Zukunft@Bphil, The future
With Sir Simon Rattle’s appointment, the orchestra not only succeeded in recruiting one of the most talented conductors of the younger generation, but also in introducing a series of important innovations. The conversion of the orchestra into the 'Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker' under public law has provided a modern structure which allows a broad range of opportunities for creative development while ensuring the ensemble’s economic viability. The foundation enjoys the generous support of its principal sponsor. One focus of this sponsorship is the education project Zukunft@Bphil, which was established when Sir Simon Rattle assumed office and through which the orchestra addresses a broad public — young people in particular. Sir Simon Rattle has summed up his intentions as follows: 'Zukunft@Bphil reminds us that music is no mere luxury, but instead a fundamental need. Music must be a vital and essential element in the life of each individual.' This means an expansion of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s cultural mandate, one to which they are dedicating themselves with characteristic commitment.
For this commitment the Berliner Philharmoniker and its artistic director were appointed as International UNICEF Ambassadors, an honour conferred for the first time on an artistic ensemble. The formal appointment took place in November 2007 in New York before the performance of the dance project, The Rite of Spring, at the United Palace Theater in Harlem, which was presented as part of the Berlin in Lights Festival at Carnegie Hall during the Berliner Philharmoniker's ten-day residency.
At the Salzburg Easter Festival, of which Rattle is Artistic Director, the Berliner Philharmoniker played productions of Fidelio, Cosi fan tutte, Peter Grimes and Pelléas et Mélisande, a concert performance of Idomeneo and a wide range of concert programmes. Currently the Berliner Philharmoniker are realising Wagner's complete Ring Cycle with for the Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Easter Festivals. The cycle began with Das Rheingold in Aix in 2006 and will conclude at the 2010 Salzburg Easter Festival.
