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Berliner Philharmoniker

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Berliner Philharmoniker are a German symphony orchestra in Berlin, founded in 1882. The orchestra came into being when 54 musicians broke away from the conductor Benjamin Bilse after he wanted to take them to Warsaw in a fourth-class railway carriage, and carried on under the name Frühere Bilsesche Kapelle. Under the direction of Hans von Bülow it grew into one of the most famous orchestras in the world. In 1895 Arthur Nikisch became chief conductor, in 1923 Wilhelm Furtwängler followed, who stayed until 1945 and returned in 1952 until his death in 1954. After the war Sergiu Celibidache led the orchestra for seven years.

Music and breakthrough

Herbert von Karajan was chief conductor from 1955 to 1989. Under him the orchestra recorded an enormous number of records, above all for Deutsche Grammophon, experimented with new recording techniques and toured extensively. In 1982 it hired its first female musician, the violinist Madeleine Carruzzo. In 1989, after the fall of the Wall, the orchestra for the first time democratically chose Claudio Abbado, who broadened the repertoire with modern works of the twentieth century. Simon Rattle led it from 2002 to 2018, and since 2019 Kirill Petrenko has been chief conductor. In 2009 the Digital Concert Hall began and in 2014 the orchestra's own label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings.

Influence

The orchestra's records show a distinctive, full and precise sound. Beethoven's Eroica, Schubert's Rosamunde and Mussorgsky's Bilder einer Ausstellung, among others, have been heard in recordings by the orchestra since the 1950s. In this way the orchestra is one of the founders of the classical record as a mass medium.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Beethoven's Eroica in the 1952 or 1954 recording. Notice the steady, full sound of the strings and how the winds emerge from it.

Discography

Studio albums

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