Berliner Philharmoniker

Beginnings
Spring 1882: When Benjamin Bilse announces the intention of taking his already underpaid orchestra on the train to Warsaw in fourth class for a concert, that's the last straw for 54 of his musicians. Calling themselves the 'former Bilse Kapelle', they decide to declare their independence. But at first the young ensemble has economic problems of its own to confront, and it isn't until the Berlin concert agent Hermann Wolff takes over its organization in 1887 that a stable basis for the future is finally established.　He changes the name to 'Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester', turns a renovated roller-skating rink into the first 'Philharmonie' and seeks out the best conductors of the day for his musicians.

The great orchestral trainers
Hans von Bülow has already formed a first-class ensemble from his Meiningen Court Orchestra when he takes over the Berliner Philharmoniker.　In only five years at the helm he lays the foundation of those special musical qualities that from now on will be indissolubly linked with the orchestra's name.

Bülow's successors, on the other hand, come to stay.　 Arthur Nikisch, who takes up his post in 1895, goes on to influence the orchestra's style decisively for the next 27 years.　 He once writes: 'It can be asserted without hesitation that in a first-rate orchestral body every member deserves to be described as an "artist",' and with this creed he encourages the Berlin musicians to develop a sense of themselves as 'soloists'. That quality still represents one of the Philharmonic's unmistakable trademarks.

If Bülow's interpretations tended towards a somewhat analytical brilliance, Nikisch's performances are sustained by a splendour and warmth of sonority, achieved with the most economical gestures, and by a rhapsodic breadth having an almost improvisatory effect. 　Unsurprisingly, the cornerstones of his repertoire are Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Liszt, Strauss, Mahler - and, with special devotion, Bruckner.　 Under his leadership the orchestra attains international stature, and every major soloist now comes to Berlin to appear with the Philharmonic.

When Nikisch dies in 1922, the orchestra unanimously chooses Wilhelm Furtwängler to succeed him.　The young conductor builds on Nikisch's achievements.　His idiosyncratic beat and his impassioned, inspired music-making demand from the musicians an extremely high level of autonomy and sensitivity. Furtwängler's philosophy emphasizes the timelessness of great works of art, and thus his greatest affinity is for the Classical and Romantic masters. He and his Berlin orchestra become legendary interpreters of the works of Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner.　At the same time Furtwängler expands the repertoire to include contemporary pieces by Schoenberg, Hindemith, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.　Through its tours abroad, the Philharmonic establishes its international reputation as one of the finest orchestras in the world.

The turmoil of war
The National Socialist dictatorship and the war do irreparable damage to the German cultural landscape - including the Berliner Philharmoniker.　 The regime's maniacal racial policy leads to the loss of valuable musicians, and the orchestra finds itself isolated from the international exchange of soloists and conductors. Meanwhile there is also an attempt to turn Germany's representative ensemble into an instrument of official cultural politics.　Nevertheless Furtwängler and the orchestra manage to salvage its artistic substance through the war.

But the comparatively rapid turnover of conductors in the early post-war period speaks for itself.　The Philharmonic under Leo Borchard already gives its first concert on 26 May 1945 in the Titania-Palast, a converted cinema, but in August, through a tragic mistake, Borchard is shot and killed by an occupying soldier.　Chosen to succeed him is a completely unknown young Romanian, virtually straight out of the Berlin Music Hochschule, where he has been studying.　But the orchestra's judgment proves itself to be acute: Sergiu Celibidache arouses great enthusiasm with his vivid personality and widely varied programmes until 1952, when the orchestra's leadership is officially returned to the hands of Furtwängler.

The Karajan era
In November 1954 Wilhelm Furtwängler dies.　The following April the Berliner Philharmoniker chooses as its artistic director the man who is to remain with the ensemble longer than any other - Herbert von Karajan.　He works with the orchestra to cultivate a specific sound, an unprecedented perfection and virtuosity which lay the groundwork for the ensemble's national and international triumphs - both in the concert

Moreover, Karajan is able to expand the orchestra's activities in a number of new directions.　With the founding of the Salzburg Easter Festival in 1967 the orchestra now has its own major international festival and an opportunity to make its mark as an opera orchestra.　 A further initiative is the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker (Orchester-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker), in which young and talented instrumentalists are trained through practical experience to meet the stringent demands of a top-flight orchestra.　The construction of the new Philharmonie also takes place during the Karajan era.　Since October 1963 the orchestra has made its home in the concert hall designed by Hans Scharoun, (to which a chamber music hall is added in 1987).

After nearly 35 years as the orchestra's artistic director, Herbert von Karajan died in July 1989.　 His successor is far from being an unknown quantity: Claudio Abbado conducted the Philharmonic for the first time in 1966, and since then he has earned the musicians' highest esteem.　He's not an orchestral trainer in the manner of his predecessors. What's most impressive about Abbado is the sheer force of his conviction and artistic presence.

Abbado's programmes bring a pronounced shift of emphasis. Each cycle of concerts now has a thematic focus - for example, 'Faust' or 'The Wanderer' or 'Music is Fun for All'. This conceptual modernization corresponds to a significant rejuvenation of the Philharmonic itself.　Well over half of the current membership joined the orchestra during this time.

In February 1998 Claudio Abbado announces that he will not renew his contract beyond the 2001/02 season, and in June of the following year the Berliner Philharmoniker, by a wide majority of votes, elects a new chief conductor.

In its appointment of Simon Rattle, the orchestra gains one of the most successful conductors of the younger generation.　　 A whole host of innovations accompany this step. Of particular significance is the conversion of the orchestra's formal organization into a foundation of public law - the 'Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker' (Berlin Philharmonic Foundation) - under the aegis of the city-state of Berlin. This move establishes an up-to-date framework allowing new creative freedom and financial stability. Further support for the foundation comes from the involvement of the Deutsche Bank as main sponsor. 　Additional backing comes from the 'Gesellschaft der Freunde der Berliner Philharmonie e.V.' (Society of Friends of the Berliner Philharmonie Inc.).

During the 2003/04 season the Berlin Philharmonic Foundation is organizing a total of 131 concerts, of which 86 are concerts of Berliner Philharmoniker.　In addition, there is the educational project Zukunft@BPhil, which is of special importance to Simon Rattle and the orchestra as a means of creating new forms that will bring music and music education to the widest possible public.　As Sir Simon has described his intentions: 'Zukunft@BPhil should remind us that music isn't a luxury but a fundamental necessity.　 Music should be a vital and essential component in the life of all people.' 　For the orchestra in its 120-year history, this signifies an expansion of its cultural mission, something to which the Berliner Philharmoniker now dedicates itself with its typically wholehearted sense of commitment.

Simon Rattle

On the 23rd June 1999, the orchestral members of the Berlin Philharmonic voted for Sir Simon Rattle to succeed Claudio Abbado as the Chief Conductor of their orchestra.　 Abbado announced in 1998 that, after twelve years leading the orchestra, he wished to step down at the end of the 2001 / 2002 season.　In the over 120-year history of the orchestra, Simon Rattle conducted his first concert as the sixth Chief Conductor and the new Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmonie on the 7th September 2002.

Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool in 1955. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and from 1974 to 1977 was Assistant Conductor at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta.　He went on to work with many of the leading orchestras in Great Britain: the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic and the London Sinfonietta. His début in the USA was with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1979, and he was their first Principal Guest Conductor from 1981 to 1994.

In 1980 Simon Rattle became the Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), and then their Musical Director from September 1990 until the summer of 1998.　 His tireless work and visionary artistic projects with the CBSO ensured their place as one of the world's leading orchestras. They toured together throughout the world and in 1998 were guests at the Salzburg Festival where they performed the complete Beethoven Symphonies.

Alongside the CBSO, Simon Rattle continued to work with the leading orchestras in the USA and Europe.　 He forged long-term relationships and bonds with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic, with whom he recorded a Beethoven cycle in May 2002. Since October 1992 he has been The Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment as well as Artistic Adviser to the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.