Editing Berlin Philharmonic (section)

== History ==

The Berlin Philharmonic was founded in Berlin in 1882 by 54 musicians under the name '''Frühere Bilsesche Kapelle''' (literally, "Former Bilse's Band"); the group broke away from their previous conductor [[Benjamin Bilse]] after he announced his intention of taking the band on a fourth-class train to Warsaw for a concert. The orchestra was renamed and reorganized under the financial management of Hermann Wolff in 1882. Their new conductor was [[Ludwig von Brenner]]; in 1887 [[Hans von Bülow]], the conductor of the [[Meiningen Court Orchestra]] and one of the most famous piano virtuosos of the time, took over the post. This helped to establish the orchestra's international reputation, and guests [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]], [[Felix von Weingartner]], [[Richard Strauss]], [[Gustav Mahler]], [[Johannes Brahms]] and [[Edvard Grieg]] conducted the orchestra over the next few years. In 1887, the pianist and composer [[Mary Wurm]] became the first woman to conduct the orchestra.<ref>{{cite web|title=First woman at the conductor's desk|url=https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/history/hans-von-buelow/#event-first-woman-at-the-conductors-desk|website=berliner-philharmoniker.de|access-date=3 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107031000/https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/history/hans-von-buelow/#event-first-woman-at-the-conductors-desk|url-status=live}}</ref> Programmes of this period show that the orchestra possessed only 46 strings, much less than the [[Richard Wagner|Wagnerian]] ideal of 64.

In 1895, [[Arthur Nikisch]] became chief conductor, and was succeeded in 1923 by [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]]. Despite several changes in leadership, the orchestra continued to perform throughout [[World War II]]. On 20 April 1942, Furtwängler conducted a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic for Hitler's birthday.<ref>{{cite web |title=Documental historia W.Furtwangler 9 sinf. Beethoven. Hitler"s birthday 20/4/1942 Part final mov. 4 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiA3s9pLUWM |website=Youtube |access-date=11 June 2022 |archive-date=11 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611014228/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiA3s9pLUWM&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the end of the performance, [[Joseph Goebbels]] approached the podium to shake Furtwängler's hand. This concert led to intense criticism of Furtwängler after the war.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Prieberg|first1=Fred K.|title=Trial of Strength: Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Third Reich|date=1991|publisher=Quartet Books|page=91}}</ref> After Furtwängler (who was personally opposed to the Nazi regime {{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}) fled to [[Switzerland]] to escape arrest by the [[Gestapo]] in January 1945, [[Leo Borchard]] became chief conductor. The final wartime concert was on 12 April 1945, just before the commencement of the [[Battle of Berlin]]. The program included Brünnhilde's Immolation Scene, the finale from Wagner's ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' (''Twilight of the Gods'').<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/10/year-zero-by-ian-buruma-review/ |title=After the war – apocalypse |author=Joanna Kavenna |work=The Spectator |access-date=18 May 2019 |archive-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531075031/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/10/year-zero-by-ian-buruma-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hitler Youth]] members are reported to have distributed cyanide pills to the audience for those who [[Mass suicides in 1945 Nazi Germany|wished, by death, to escape the imminent arrival of the Red Army]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/24/ghost-sonata|title=Ghost Sonata|author=Alex Ross|author-link=Alex Ross (music critic)|date=16 March 2003|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=18 May 2019|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020043401/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/03/24/ghost-sonata|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1996-03-01/albert-speer-his-battle-truth |title=Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth |author=Stanley Hoffmann |date=March–April 1996 |magazine=Foreign Affairs |access-date=18 May 2019 |archive-date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518175522/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1996-03-01/albert-speer-his-battle-truth |url-status=live }}</ref> The battle forced the orchestra to close for two months, but it was quickly reopened by the [[Soviet occupation zone of Germany|Soviet occupation authorities]] under the [[East Berlin]] commandant General [[Nikolai Berzarin]] on 26 May 1945.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Fred|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/76481596|title=The Berlin Wall : a world divided, 1961–1989|date=2006|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|isbn=978-0-06-078613-7|edition=1st U.S.|location=New York|oclc=76481596|access-date=3 September 2021|archive-date=10 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210083610/https://search.worldcat.org/title/76481596|url-status=live}}</ref>

Borchard was accidentally shot and killed later in 1945 by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] forces occupying [[West Berlin]].<ref name="stivers">{{Cite book
| contribution=Victors and Vanquished: Americans as Occupiers in Berlin. 1945–1949
| first=William
| last=Stivers
| pages=161
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5agK7lACykC&q=%22Armed+Diplomacy%22&pg=PA161
| editor-last=Combat Studies Institute
| title=Armed Diplomacy: Two Centuries of American Campaigning
| isbn=978-1-4289-1650-0
| year=2004
| publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press
| location=Fort Leavenworth, KS
| access-date=24 November 2020
| archive-date=10 February 2024
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210083453/https://books.google.com/books?id=p5agK7lACykC&q=%22Armed+Diplomacy%22&pg=PA161#v=snippet&q=%22Armed%20Diplomacy%22&f=false
| url-status=live
}}</ref> [[Sergiu Celibidache]] then took over as chief conductor for seven years, from 1945 to 1952. Furtwängler returned as chief conductor in 1952 and held the post until his death in 1954.

The orchestra elected [[Herbert von Karajan]] as its next chief conductor. Karajan served in the post from 1955 until his resignation in April 1989, only months before his death.  Under him, the orchestra made a vast number of recordings and toured widely, growing and gaining fame. The orchestra hired its first female musician, violinist [[Madeleine Carruzzo]], in 1982.<ref>{{cite news|author=Donal Henahan|author-link=Donal Henahan|title=Women Are Breaking the Symphonic Barriers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/23/arts/music-view-women-are-breaking-the-symphonic-barriers.html?pagewanted=all|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=23 January 1983|access-date=14 October 2015|archive-date=7 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307222507/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/23/arts/music-view-women-are-breaking-the-symphonic-barriers.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Karajan's hiring in September 1982 of [[Sabine Meyer]], the first female wind player to the orchestra, led to controversy when the orchestra voted 73 to 4 not to admit her to the orchestra. Meyer subsequently left the orchestra. After Karajan stood down from the orchestra in 1989, the orchestra offered the chief conductorship to [[Carlos Kleiber]], who declined.

In 1989, the orchestra elected [[Claudio Abbado]] as its next principal conductor. It was the first time the Philharmonic resorted to democratic voting after the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989. Abbado expanded the orchestra's repertoire beyond the core [[Classical period (music)|classical]] and romantic works into more modern [[20th-century classical music|20th-century works]]. Abbado stepped down from the chief conductorship of the orchestra in 2002. During the post-unification period, the orchestra encountered financial problems resulting from budgetary stress in the city of Berlin.<ref>{{cite news | author=Kate Connolly | title=Band of no gold | url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,255048,00.html | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=10 November 1999 | access-date=17 August 2007 | archive-date=6 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006000521/http://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,255048,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, the Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic established the Claudio Abbado Composition Prize in Abbado's honour.<ref>{{cite magazine | author=Matthew Westphal | title=Berlin Philharmonic Names Winner of First Claudio Abbado Composition Prize | url=http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/5540.html | magazine=Playbill Arts | date=6 November 2006 | access-date=1 September 2007 | archive-date=30 September 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930013030/http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/5540.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Rattle BPH-Rittershaus1-Wikipedia.jpg|thumb|left|Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006]]

In June 1999, the musicians elected [[Simon Rattle|Sir Simon Rattle]] as their next chief conductor.<ref>{{cite news | author=Andrew Clements | title=Picking up the baton | url=https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,288989,00.html | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=24 June 1999 | access-date=17 August 2007 | archive-date=17 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217191628/http://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,,288989,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Rattle made it a condition of his signing with the Berlin Philharmonic that it be turned into a self-governing public foundation, with the power to make its own artistic and financial decisions. This required a change to state law, which was approved in 2001, allowing him to join the organization in 2002. In his first season, he initiated community projects, such as a performance of Stravinsky's ''[[The Rite of Spring|Le Sacre du printemps]]'' danced by 250 public school children, documented in ''[[Rhythm Is It!]]''. Rattle's contract with the orchestra was initially until 2012. In April 2008, the BPO musicians voted in favour of retaining Rattle as their chief conductor until 2018.<ref>{{cite news | author=Charlotte Higgins | title=Berlin Philharmonic keeps Rattle | url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2276770,00.html | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=29 April 2008 | access-date=30 April 2008 | archive-date=2 May 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502223425/http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2276770,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> From 2006 to 2010, the general manager of the orchestra was Pamela Rosenberg.<ref>{{cite news | author=Catherine Hickley | title=Rosenberg Will Leave Berlin Philharmonic; Rattle Negotiates | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aj.OUoFI9.Kw&refer=home | work=Bloomberg News | date=24 April 2008 | access-date=28 April 2008 | archive-date=10 February 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210083453/https://www.bloomberg.com/politics?pid=20601088&refer=home&sid=aj.OUoFI9.Kw | url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2010, Martin Hoffmann became the orchestra's new ''Intendant''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/magazine/titelgeschichten/title-stories/story/neuer-intendant-der-berliner-philharmoniker/ | title=Neuer Intendant der Berliner Philharmoniker | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic | date=19 June 2009 |access-date=28 July 2010| language=de | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609132228/http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/magazine/titelgeschichten/title-stories/story/neuer-intendant-der-berliner-philharmoniker/ | archive-date=9 June 2011 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Hoffmann stood down as its ''Intendant'' after the close of the 2016/2017 season.  Andrea Zietzschmann became ''Intendantin'' of the orchestra as of the 2017–2018 season.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/titelgeschichten/20172018/andrea-zietzschmann/ | title=Weichenstellungen für die Zeitenwende: Andrea Zietzschmann ist die neue Intendantin der Berliner Philharmoniker | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | date=6 October 2016 | access-date=3 November 2017 | archive-date=7 November 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013034/https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/titelgeschichten/20172018/andrea-zietzschmann/ | url-status=live }}</ref>  In December 2020, the orchestra announced the extension of Zietzschmann's contract as ''Intendantin'' until 31 August 2025.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/news/detail/andrea-zietzschmann-vertrag-verlaengert/ | title=Andrea Zietzschmann: Vertrag verlängert | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | date=7 December 2020 | access-date=22 December 2020 | archive-date=23 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123022418/https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/news/detail/andrea-zietzschmann-vertrag-verlaengert/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>  In February 2024, the orchestra announced a further extension of Zietzschmann's contract as ''Intendantin'' through the summer of 2028.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/news/detail/vertrag-mit-andrea-zietzschmann-wird-um-drei-jahre-verlaengert/ | title=Vertrag mit Andrea Zietzschmann wird um drei Jahre verlängert | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | date=5 February 2024 | access-date=2024-02-16}}</ref>

In 2006, the orchestra announced it would investigate its role during the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi regime]].<ref>{{cite news | author=Agence France-Presse | title=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to probe Nazi-era history | url=http://www.ejpress.org/article/16386 | work=European Jewish Express | date=1 May 2007 |access-date=17 August 2007| url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092347/http://www.ejpress.org/article/16386 | archive-date=29 September 2007 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2007, [[Misha Aster]] published ''The Reich's Orchestra'', his study of the relationship of the Berlin Philharmonic to the rulers of the Third Reich.<ref>{{cite news|author=Tony Paterson|title=Berlin Philharmonic 'was obedient servant of Hitler'|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2900988.ece|work=[[The Independent]]|date=28 August 2007|access-date=1 September 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830041819/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2900988.ece|archive-date=30 August 2007}}</ref> Also in 2007, the documentary film ''The Reichsorchester'' by [[Enrique Sánchez Lansch]] was released.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=1205076|title=Das Reichsorchester}}.</ref>

[[UNICEF]] appointed the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Rattle as [[UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador|Goodwill Ambassadors]] in November 2007.<ref>[[UNICEF]]: [http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41808.html UNICEF appoints Berliner Philharmoniker Goodwill Ambassador] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729055724/https://www.unicef.org/media/media_41808.html |date=29 July 2020 }}, 17 November 2007.</ref> On 10 January 2013, the orchestra announced the scheduled end of Rattle's tenure as artistic director and chief conductor in 2018.<ref>{{cite news | title=Sir Simon Rattle to step down as Berlin Philharmonic chief conductor in 2018 | url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/sir-simon-rattle-to-step-down-as-berlin-philharmonic-chief-conductor-in-2018-0 | work=[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]] | access-date=10 January 2013 | archive-date=24 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724072934/https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/sir-simon-rattle-to-step-down-as-berlin-philharmonic-chief-conductor-in-2018-0 | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, the orchestra founded its own label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings.

After an abortive first attempt on 11 May 2015,<ref>{{cite news | title=Berlin Philharmonic deadlocked over Simon Rattle's successor | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/11/berlin-philharmonic-imon-rattle-orchestra-vote-chief-conductor | work=The Guardian | author=Louise Osborne | date=11 May 2015 | access-date=22 June 2015 | archive-date=22 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622210717/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/11/berlin-philharmonic-imon-rattle-orchestra-vote-chief-conductor | url-status=live }}</ref> the orchestra on 21 June 2015 elected [[Kirill Petrenko]] as its next artistic director and chief conductor.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/titelgeschichten/2014-2015/kirill-petrenko-2015/ | title=Congratulations to Kirill Petrenko! The Berliner Philharmoniker are delighted to announce their new chief conductor | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | date=22 June 2015 |access-date=22 June 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622160430/http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/titelgeschichten/2014-2015/kirill-petrenko-2015/ | archive-date=22 June 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/22/kirill-petrenko-to-be-named-successor-to-rattle-at-berlin-philharmonic | title=Kirill Petrenko to succeed Simon Rattle at the Berlin Philharmonic | work=The Guardian | author=Ben Knight | date=22 June 2015 | access-date=22 June 2015 | archive-date=11 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011192440/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/22/kirill-petrenko-to-be-named-successor-to-rattle-at-berlin-philharmonic | url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2015, the orchestra announced that Petrenko was to formally commence his contract as chief conductor with the 2019/20 season.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/news/detail/kirill-petrenko/ | title=Kirill Petrenko will take up office as chief conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philharmoniker in the 2019/2020 season | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | date=13 October 2015 |access-date=14 October 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192714/http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/news/detail/kirill-petrenko/ | archive-date=4 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Matthias Wulff | title=Kirill Petrenko kommt später als erwartet nach Berlin | url=http://www.morgenpost.de/kultur/berlin-kultur/article206257649/Kirill-Petrenko-kommt-spaeter-als-erwartet-nach-Berlin.html | work=[[Berliner Morgenpost]] | date=13 October 2015 | access-date=14 October 2015 | archive-date=20 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120201652/https://www.morgenpost.de/kultur/berlin-kultur/article206257649/Kirill-Petrenko-kommt-spaeter-als-erwartet-nach-Berlin.html | url-status=live }}</ref> A year after this news, in October 2016, the orchestra specified more precisely the start of Petrenko's tenure as 19 August 2019.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/news/detail/kirill-petrenko-unterzeichnet-vertrag/ | title=Kirill Petrenko unterzeichnet Vertrag | publisher=Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | date=6 October 2016 |access-date=7 February 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174311/https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/news/detail/kirill-petrenko-unterzeichnet-vertrag/ | archive-date=30 August 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>