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The Berliner Philharmoniker: A Symphony of Cultural Experiences
From the spontaneous Lunch Concerts to the thought-provoking Carte blanche series, the Berliner Philharmoniker presents a diverse array of musical experiences in 2025. This season includes a mix of classical pieces, youth talent showcases, and tributes to legendary composers, all set in the heart of Berlin and beyond. Join us as we explore the vibrant atmosphere and unique offerings of these events, featuring contributions from renowned conductors and emerging artists alike.
May 1, 2025
Share1. Lunch concert
You can simply go to a concert at the Philharmonie, spontaneously, during your lunch break – and with free admission: every Wednesday at 13:00 between September and June. The programme lasts 40 to 50 minutes: chamber music, piano works or a percussion duo – everything from Tchaikovsky to tango. Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Karajan Academy regularly perform, as well as guests from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Berlin music conservatories. As can be expected at a lunch concert, catering is available from 12 noon until shortly before the concert begins.
Apr 2 - Jun 18, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berliner Philharmoniker
2. Carte blanche – Berlin, hör mal!
In the Karajan Akademie of the Berliner Philharmoniker, outstanding young musicians are prepared for artistic work in a world-class orchestra. The concert series Carte blanche – Berlin, hör mal! particularly highlights the Academy’s educational mission. Here, the young musicians step out of the orchestra to perform as soloists or in ensembles. They select the repertoire and design the programmes themselves – a true Carte blanche in every sense of the term.
Apr 10 - Jun 12, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
3. Guest performance Bologna
The Berliner Philharmoniker will also be stopping off in Bologna as part of their European concert tour of Italy. Conducted by Riccardo Muti, they invite you to a concert with an attractive Italian-German programme. Rossini’s rousing overture to William Tell and the atmospheric ballet music from Verdi's opera The Sicilian Vespers bring Italian flair to the stage. Brahms’ Second Symphony provides an exciting contrast – a work full of cantabile melodies, pastoral moods and darkly coloured timbres, which is considered the epitome of German late Romanticism.
May 2, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Bologna · PalaDozza
4. Daniel Barenboim conducts Mahler
Throughout the 60-year span of his collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim has never conducted the music of Gustav Mahler. Until now. Two late works can be heard, beginning with the expressive Adagio from the unfinished Tenth Symphony. Painful melancholy prevails here, as it does in Das Lied von der Erde (Songs of the Earth), which looks back on the lost beauty of life. Formally located between a song cycle and a symphony, this work was, according to Mahler, “probably the most personal thing I have done so far”.
8 - 10 May, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
5. Organ matinee In memory of Jean Guillou
Slovakian organist Zuzana Ferjenčíková dedicates her debut concert on the organ of the Berlin Philharmonie Berlin to her teacher Jean Guillou, who died in 2019. Guillou performed on the the Philharmonie’s organ several times himself. His speciality: his own arrangements of famous orchestral works, with which he created unexpected orchestral timbres on the organ. Zuzana Ferjenčíková plays some of Guillou's most impressive arrangements, including the delicate “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and Mussorgsky's powerful cycle Pictures at an Exhibition.
May 11, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
6. The Simply Quartet plays Mozart, Grieg, Clarke and Marsalis
Finding coherence in the complex – that is the Simply Quartet's recipe for success. After winning several international competitions, including the Carl Nielsen Competition in Copenhagen and the Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, the young ensemble is one of the rising stars of the quartet scene. For their debut in our quartet series, the four musicians will perform classics of the genre such as Mozart's “Hunting Quartet” and Grieg's Opus 27, as well as Wynton Marsalis’ jazzy Creole Contradanzas and American composer Rebecca Clarke’s thought-provoking Poem.
May 13, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
7. Kirill Petrenko with Mahler’s Ninth
The Ninth Symphony is Gustav Mahler’s last completed work – an expressive farewell and at the same time a visionary anticipation of musical modernism. Since Mahler did not live to see the premiere of his Ninth, he could not complete his customary final revisions of the instrumental balance. “This provides a special challenge for all those who interpret this musical testament when examining the musical text,” says Kirill Petrenko. He is joined in this delicate task by the Berliner Philharmoniker.
14 - 15 May, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
8. Calender Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic “Europeana” – a jazz homage to the European idea
The season finale of our Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic series is entitled Europeana and commemorates the end of the war and liberation from National Socialism 80 years ago – a celebration of the European idea. Artists will include the NDR Bigband with Geir Lysne, bringing the traditional big band sound creatively and innovatively into the present; the legendary Joachim Kühn on piano; and the vision string quartet, whose background is in classical music, but who have taken this opportunity to celebrate their passion for jazz. You can expect to breathtaking solos from saxophonist Émile Parisien.
May 16, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
9. Guest performance Amsterdam Kirill Petrenko with Mahler’s Ninth
The Ninth Symphony is Gustav Mahler’s last completed work – an expressive farewell and at the same time a visionary anticipation of musical modernism. Since Mahler did not live to see the premiere of his Ninth, he could not complete his customary final revisions of the instrumental balance. “This provides a special challenge for all those who interpret this musical testament when examining the musical text,” says Kirill Petrenko. He is joined in this delicate task by the Berliner Philharmoniker.
May 17, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Amsterdam · The Concertgebouw
10. Interactive concert “Schwupp-di-wupp”
At the interactive concerts for children aged 3 and over, the immediate encounter with music, dance and rhythm gets every fibre of the body vibrating. Each concert is dedicated to a different instrument, played by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker or the Karajan Academy. In the upper foyer of the chamber music hall, a shared stage area is created that brings children and artists together. Our young guests sit on cushions in the centre of the stage and experience magical stories without words. Seating for accompanying adults surrounds the performance area. The entire audience is encouraged to join in!
17 - 18 May, 2025
Berliner Philharmoniker
Berlin · Berliner Philharmonie
Conclusion
The 2025 season of the Berliner Philharmoniker is a testament to the orchestra's dedication to artistic diversity and cultural engagement. With an array of events that span genres and generations, there's something for every music lover to enjoy. Whether you're attending a spontaneous Lunch Concert or experiencing the grandeur of Mahler under the guidance of celebrated conductors, these performances offer a unique opportunity to connect with the universal language of music. As Berlin and beyond resonate with the sounds of these remarkable events, the Berliner Philharmoniker continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.
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