Of course the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is better!
The Berlin Symphony Orchestra is not well known.
Introduction to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra:
As a central city of music culture, Berlin’s special position in the world’s musical life is very obvious: it is one of the best places in the world It is one of the cities with the largest number of opera houses, symphony orchestras, choirs and chamber orchestras. Among these countless musical groups, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading and most representative ambassador and the most respected by Berliners. A symbol of pride.
Throughout the 19th century, Berlin’s musical life gradually broke away from the shackles of the court and the church. Music that was initially just a pastime for princes and nobles and served religious purposes was finally able to enter the life circle of ordinary people. It laid the foundation for the further prosperity of Berlin music. Since 1801, the Palace Orchestra has held two to three concerts for the public every year to introduce the symphonic works of composers such as Beethoven to the audience. In November 1826, the court orchestra here performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
In the early 19th century, although the economic recession greatly restricted public music performances, informal family concerts still emerged in endlessly. For example, the Mendelssohn and Nicholas families organized similar concerts. Family music performances, Joachim and Clara Schumann also arranged private chamber music concerts. At this stage, the dominant position of the court in Berlin's social musical structure was further weakened, replaced by amateur musical activities in churches, schools, and families. Some private orchestras have gradually gained a good reputation, and some have even spread their influence abroad. Among them, the more famous ones include the Joseph Gonger Orchestra, the Carl Liebig Orchestra and the Wilhelm Wiprecht Orchestra. Benjamin Bilzer established the Bilzer Orchestra named after him in 1867. Against the background of the rapid development of many orchestras in Berlin, the orchestra soon became an organization with 70 professional musicians. Such a scale was at that time It is very rare. However, the Bilzer Orchestra also suffered an internal split in 1882. 54 of the 70 musicians left the orchestra. They merged with other amateur musicians at the initiative of the performance agent Hermann Wolf. Together, they formed the Philharmonic Orchestra, which would become the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra that would become famous in the world of music in the future.
When the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was founded, Franz Werner, who was well-known in Germany at the time, was the conductor. Prior to this, Werner's conducting activities were mainly concentrated in Munich, Leipzig and Dresden. His most outstanding achievements were conducting Wagner's operas "Das Rheingold" and "Die Valkyrie" in 1869 and 1870 respectively. 》premiere. Werner did not have a profound impact on the Berlin Philharmonic except for conducting some of its concerts in its infancy. He soon left the orchestra and went to Cologne to become the director of the local music academy.
The next person to take up the baton of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was Joseph Joachim, who was active in the second half of the 19th century as a violinist, composer, conductor and teacher. Although Joachim was well-known in the music circles of Germany and even Europe at that time, as a professional conductor, he obviously lacked foresight for the development and growth of the orchestra, and his repertoire was too limited to Bra It seems too narrow for a representative orchestra from a musical center city. The conductor who succeeded Joachim in 1887 was Hans von Bülow. This loyal follower of Wagner's music was already in his sixties when he took charge of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The rich experience and musical background have brought many fresh things to this band, which are indispensable for a band on the rise. During this period, the young orchestra established close and solid ties with many composers, and its guest conductors included Richard Strauss, Brahms, Grieg and Tchaikovsky. Waiting for someone's name.
When Furtw?ngler died in 1954, the Berlin Philharmonic faced the rising star conductor Karajan and Celi Biedak, who had made great contributions to the orchestra's restoration of glory. However, For orchestra managers, Karajan is the most ideal candidate in their minds. When the news of Furtw?ngler's death came, Karajan was conducting a local orchestra in Rome. It may be difficult to describe his mood at this time, because there has been a dispute between the two best conductors in the German-speaking area for many years. A complex relationship of love and hate, more hate than love, their overt and covert battles in Vienna and Berlin are actually the competition for the two most representative orchestras in these two cities - the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In the past, the older and more experienced Furtw?ngler was the natural winner, but what about from now on?
However, at this moment, Karajan himself was more calm than the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He and the orchestra agreed to tour the United States together as a special guest conductor in the spring of the following year. What's wrong with performing and getting the two sides to work together?
When the tour ended successfully, Karajan finally achieved what he had dreamed of for many years. Of course, for the orchestra, they also found the most suitable candidate for this position in the German-speaking region. Thus, Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra—the most charismatic pair in the history of modern music—were formed.
Under the leadership of Karajan, the Berlin Philharmonic entered its golden years. The records it recorded always set new records for classical music sales, and every performance it performed was well received. With unanimous cheers and praises, record companies came to discuss cooperation matters, and organizers of music festivals across Europe also competed to cast flattering eyes on the band. On October 15, 1963, the orchestra entered its new home base, the New Philharmonic Hall. This performance venue embodies Karajan's style and sound concepts. It can accommodate 2,397 spectators and is the largest music building in Berlin.
Karajan brought the Berlin Philharmonic into an unprecedented musical realm. At the same time, Karajan never limited himself to works of a certain period or genre. He conducted all Although not all the music is perfect, there is no doubt that it has reached the first-class level. Naturally, Karajan's achievement was directly due to the orchestra in his hands that was also full of special charm.
However, even such a seemingly happy combination has its crisis side, especially in Karajan's later years, when he looked at everything with an emperor's eyes, this contradiction became more obvious . The cause of the conflict was the attitude towards the appointment of a female player, but in fact the real reason was the orchestra's resistance to the king of music who was above the orchestra in all matters. As a result, the intensified conflicts became irreconcilable, and in his last few years, Karajan even turned to conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, recording records, and holding concerts.
After Karajan's death in 1989, the Berlin Philharmonic had to seriously consider this question when choosing their next leader: did they need a majestic monarch or a leader? An affable collaborator? As a result, in several rounds of secret voting among league members, Abbado, who is always pleasant and gentle in demeanor, was successfully elected and came out on top among several candidates.
However, with the development of the times, today's conductors no longer stick to one orchestra for many years like their predecessors. Even permanent conductors often wear multiple hats and are unwilling to devote all their energy to one orchestra. in one place. This can also be seen in the situation of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in recent years.
Judging from the frequency of the appearance of principal and guest conductors in the orchestra's music season from 1994 to 1995, the weight of the chief conductor has been greatly reduced. Correspondingly, the number of guest conductors is widely distributed and the number of performances has increased. Among them, the chief conductor Abbado conducted 28 games, while Barenboim and Rattle conducted 7 games, Meta, Savalisch, Haitink and Levin conducted 6 games, and Boulez conducted 4 games. Seiji Ozawa and Solti conducted 2 performances. Others invited to conduct this orchestra include Rastetter, Harnoncourt and Salonen.