The Berliner Philharmoniker, founded in 1882 as a self-governing body, has long been esteemed as
one of the world’s greatest orchestras.
Hans von Bülow, Arthur Nikisch and Wilhelm Furtwängler were the orchestra’s first chief conductors, leaving their distinctive mark on the Berliner Philharmoniker in its early years. In 1955 Herbert von Karajan became the orchestra’s artistic director and, during the ensuing years, worked with the musicians to develop a unique tonal quality and performing style that made the Berliner Philharmoniker famous throughout the world. Claudio Abbado, chief conductor from 1989 to 2002, devised a new type of programming, with increased emphasis on contemporary works, additional chamber music series and concert performances of operas. He was followed by Sir Simon Rattle, who led the orchestra from September 2002 until the end of the 2017/2018 season. During his tenure, the Education Programme of the Berliner Philharmoniker was initiated to ensure that the orchestra reaches a wider and, especially, younger audience. In November 2007, the orchestra and its artistic director Sir Simon Rattle were appointed as UNICEF goodwill ambassadors, the first artistic ensemble to receive this honour.
In 2009, the Digital Concert Hall was launched, an innovative video platform in which concerts of the Berliner Philharmoniker are broadcast live over the Internet and are available as recordings in the video archive. In 2014 the orchestra founded its own label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings.
During an orchestra assembly on 21 June 2015, Kirill Petrenko was elected by a large majority of the orchestra members as the new chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He takes up his position at the opening of the 2019/2020 season.
The Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation enjoys the generous support of the state of Berlin, the Federal Government and its principal sponsor, the Deutsche Bank.
| FIRST VIOLINS Noah Bendix-Balgley Daishin Kashimoto Daniel Stabrawa Krzysztof Polonek Zoltán Almási Maja Avramović Helena Madoka Berg Simon Bernardini Alessandro Cappone Madeleine Carruzzo Aline Champion-Hennecka Luiz Felipe Coelho Laurentius Dinca Luis Esnaola Sebastian Heesch Aleksandar Ivić Hande Küden Rüdiger Liebermann Kotowa Machida Alvaro Parra Bastian Schäfer Dorian Xhoxhi SECOND VIOLINS Thomas Timm Christophe Horák Philipp Bohnen Stanley Dodds Cornelia Gartemann Amadeus Heutling Angelo de Leo Anna Mehlin Christoph von der Nahmer Raimar Orlovsky Simon Roturier Bettina Sartorius Rachel Schmidt Armin Schubert Stephan Schulze Christoph Streuli Eva-Maria Tomasi Romano Tommasini VIOLAS Amihai Grosz Naoko Shimizu Micha Afkham Julia Gartemann Matthew Hunter Ulrich Knörzer Sebastian Krunnies Walter Küssner Ignacy Miecznikowski Martin von der Nahmer Allan Nilles Kyoungmin Park Joaquín Riquelme García Martin Stegner Wolfgang Talirz CELLOS Bruno Delepelaire Ludwig Quandt Martin Löhr Olaf Maninger Richard Duven Rachel Helleur-Simcock Christoph Igelbrink Solène Kermarrec Stephan Koncz Martin Menking David Riniker Nikolaus Römisch Dietmar Schwalke Knut Weber DOUBLE BASSES Matthew McDonald Janne Saksala Esko Laine Martin Heinze Michael Karg Stanisław Pajak Peter Riegelbauer Edicson Ruiz Gunars Upatnieks Janusz Widzyk Ulrich Wolff
| FLUTES Mathieu Dufour Michael Hasel Jelka Weber Egor Egorkin OBOES Jonathan Kelly Albrecht Mayer Christoph Hartmann Andreas Wittmann Dominik Wollenweber English HornCLARINETS Wenzel Fuchs Andreas Ottensamer Alexander Bader Walter Seyfarth Manfred Preis BASSOONS Daniele Damiano Stefan Schweigert Mor Biron Markus Weidmann Václav Vonášek HORNS Stefan Dohr Stefan de Leval Jezierski Georg Schreckenberger Sarah Willis Andrej Žust TRUMPETS Guillaume Jehl Andre Schoch Tamás Velenczei TROMBONESChristhard Gössling Olaf Ott Jesper Busk Sørensen Thomas Leyendecker Stefan Schulz TUBA Alexander von Puttkamer TIMPANI Benjamin Forster Wieland Welzel PERCUSSION Raphael Haeger Simon Rössler Franz Schindlbeck Jan Schlichte HARP Marie-Pierre Langlamet CHAIRMEN Alexander Bader MEDIA CHAIRMEN Stanley Dodds Olaf Maninger
(updated July 2019)
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