Greeting

“I am from neither East nor West, there are no borders in my breast.” It is almost 800 years since this was written by Rumi, one of the foremost Persian poets and scholars of the Middle Ages – and to this day his words contain a progressive and universal idea of harmony. A lack of borders also characterises this year’s Musikfest Berlin, which invites Berlin-based, national and international orchestras, ensembles and artists to perform in Berlin over a period of three weeks. Its musicological and stylistic spectrum ranges from composers such as Hildegard von Bingen – recomposed and recontextualised by contemporary artists – to the world premiere of a new work by Betty Olivero, who mixes soprano and orchestra with electronic sounds. Of particular musical and socio-political importance at present is Musikfest Berlin’s focus on classical Persian music – which can also be experienced as a source of inspiration for new compositions.

The Berliner Philharmoniker are once again delighted to host numerous international ensembles and orchestras in our role as co-operation partner of Musikfest Berlin / Berliner Festspiele. The orchestra itself is represented with two programmes – in “your” Philharmonie, which this year just happens to celebrate 60 years since it first opened.

“Combining tradition and innovation” is how Jörg Widmann once described his artistic goal – and this can be experienced in his impressive concert overture for orchestra “Con brio” with playful references to the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven in the first concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker at Musikfest Berlin. Our Composer in Residence 2023/24 is everything rolled into one: conductor, soloist and composer. So he will conduct his Violin Concerto No. 2, which will be performed by his sister, the violinist Carolin Widmann, before playing his “Fantasie” for solo clarinet himself: a work that explores all the sonic possibilities of the contemporary clarinet. As an overt admirer of Mendelssohn, whose Clarinet Sonata inspired his “undying love”, Widmann will also conduct his Symphony No. 5.

Volumes and, at times, sheer force of sound will hit listeners to the Berliner Philharmoniker’s second concert conducted by Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko featuring powerful works from the second half of the 20th century: Iannis Xenakis’s “Jonchaies” for orchestra, a force of nature in which various clusters of instruments and tones clash, is just an appetiser for György Kurtág’s driving and expressive work “Stele” and Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s apocalyptic “Gesangsszene” (Song Scene) setting texts from ”Sodom and Gomorrha” by Jean Giraudoux – leading to their downfall with the emphatic words: “It is the end of the world! The saddest of all things!” A warning that haunts us today. And in this concert, the Berliner Philharmoniker again demonstrate their commitment to contemporary music with the world premiere of a new work by Márton Illés.

Once again this year, my sincere thanks go to Winrich Hopp and his team for their creativity and I wish them every success in presenting this multifaceted programme. And my best wishes for success also go to Matthias Pees, the new director of the Berliner Festspiele, and to all the artists taking part. And I hope that you, dear members of the audience, will be inspired by the concerts of Musikfest Berlin 2023.

I look forward to your visit, yours

Andrea Zietschmann
General Manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation