Berliner Philharmonie

The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, located in the Tiergarten district. The building is located on Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, named for the Philharmonic's longest-serving principal conductor, in the Kulturforum area of Berlin not far from Potsdamer Platz. The hall is the primary concert venue of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. There is a sister music venue, the Kammermusiksaal, next to the Philharmonie proper. The Philharmonie has 2,440 seats, whilst the Kammermusiksaal has 1,180.

Hans Scharoun designed the hall, which was constructed over the years 1960-1963. It is a singular building, asymmetrical and tentlike, with the main concert hall in the shape of a pentagon. The seating offers excellent positions from which to view the stage through the irregularly increasing height of the seat rows. The stage is at the center of the hall, with seats surrounding it on all sides. The Philharmonie is highly regarded for the quality of its acoustics.cite news | author=Kate Connolly | title=Musicians flee Philharmonic fire in Berlin | url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/story/0,,2281162,00.html | work=The Guardian | date=21 May 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-22]

On 20 May 2008, a fire broke out at the hall. One-quarter of the roof underwent considerable damage as firefighters cut openings to reach the flames beneath the roof. [cite news | author=Nicholas Kulish and Daniel J. Wakin | title=Fire Under Control at Home of Berlin Philharmonic | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/world/europe/21berlin.html | work=New York Times | date=21 May 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-22] The hall interior did sustain water damage as well, but was otherwise "generally unharmed." The firefighters limited damage by the use of foam. [cite news | author=Daniel J. Wakin | title=Hall Interior in Berlin Intact After Fire | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/arts/music/22orch.html | work=New York Times | date=22 May 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-22] The cause of the fire was attributed to welding work, and no serious damage was caused either to the structure or interior of the building. [cite news | author=Stephen McElroy | title=Cause of Fire at Berlin Philharmonic Is Found | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/arts/27arts-002.html | work=New York Times | date=27 May 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-28] Concert activity resumed, as scheduled, on 1 June 2008 with a concert by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. [cite news | author=Felix Stephan | title=Philharmonie wieder geöffnet: Das Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin nahm den Konzertbetrieb wieder auf | url=http://www.morgenpost.de/content/2008/06/03/feuilleton/965753.html | work=Berliner Morgenpost | date=3 June 2008 | accessdate=2008-06-07]

References

ee also

*List of concert halls

External links

* [http://www.kulturforum-berlin.com Kulturforum on Potsdamer Platz]
* [http://www.panorama-cities.net/berlin/philharmonics.html Berliner Philharmonie 360° Panorama]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7410948.stm "Fire at Berlin orchestra's home", BBC News (on-line), 20 May 2008]