The Konzerthaus Berlin is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

in Berlin, the home of the

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German Orchestra, symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and ...

. Situated on the

Gendarmenmarkt The is a square in Berlin and the site of an architectural ensemble that includes the Berlin concert hall, along with the French and German Churches. In the centre of the square stands a monumental statue of poet Friedrich Schiller. The ...

square in the central

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

district of the city, it was originally built as a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

. It initially operated from 1818 to 1821 under the name of the Schauspielhaus Berlin, then as the Theater am Gendarmenmarkt and Komödie. It became a concert hall after the Second World War, and its name changed to its present one in 1994. The

is the resident

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

of the Konzerthaus Berlin. The concert hall also hosts

Young Euro Classic Young Euro Classic is an international music festival for youth orchestras. Established in Berlin, Germany in 2000, it is one of the world's most important international platforms for young musicians in the Western classical music tradition. Eve ...

every summer, an international festival of

youth orchestra A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of Youth, young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of Music school, conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchest ...

History

National-Theater (1802–1817)

The building's predecessor, the ''National-Theater'' in the

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; ; ; ; ) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km (7 miles) south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duk ...

suburb, was destroyed by fire in 1817. It had been designed by

Carl Gotthard Langhans Carl Gotthard Langhans (15 December 1732 – 1 October 1808) was a Prussian master builder and royal architect. His churches, palaces, grand houses, interiors, city gates and theatres in Silesia (now Poland), Berlin, Potsdam and elsewhere belo ...

, and was inaugurated on 1 January 1802.

Königliches Schauspielhaus (1817–1870)

The new hall was designed by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

between 1818 and 1821. The new ''Königliches Schauspielhaus'' was inaugurated on 18 June 1821 with the acclaimed premiere of

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

's opera ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

''. Other works that have premiered at this theater include ''Undine'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1816. During the

1848 Revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

its main auditorium housed the

Prussian National Assembly The Prussian National Assembly () came into being after the revolution of 1848 and was tasked with drawing up a constitution for the Kingdom of Prussia. It first met in the building of the ''Sing-Akademie zu Berlin'' (later the Maxim Gorki Th ...

for several weeks in September, with the Gendarmenmarkt a major arena of political events.

Preußisches Staatstheater (1870–1944)

Notable premieres during this period included ''

Penthesilea Penthesilea () was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by Achilles or Neoptolemus. The ...

'' by

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (; 18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''The Prince of Homburg'', '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' ...

in 1876, and ''

The Assumption of Hannele ''The Ascension of Little Hannele'' (), also known simply as ''Hannele'', is an 1893 play by the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann.Hartnoll (1983, 377). In contrast to Hauptmann's naturalistic dramas, ''The Assumption of Hannele'' adopts a mo ...

'' by

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

in 1893. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the ''Schauspielhaus'' reopened under the name of ''Preußisches Staatstheater Berlin'' in October 1919. Under the direction of noted

German Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

producer and director

Leopold Jessner Leopold Jessner (3 March 1878 – 13 December 1945) was a noted producer and director of German Expressionist theater and cinema. His first film, '' Hintertreppe'' (1921), is considered a major turning point which paved the way for the late ...

, it soon became one of the leading theaters of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, a tradition ambivalently continued by his successor

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hambur ...

after the Nazi takeover in 1933. Gründgens directed a famous staging of ''

Goethe's Faust ''Faust'' ( , ) is a tragedy, tragic Play (theatre), play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as ''Faust, Part One'' and ''Faust, Part Two''. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rh ...

'' and the premiere of

's tragedy ''Iphigenie in Delphi'' in 1941.

After World War II

Severely damaged by Allied bombing and the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

, the building was rebuilt from 1977 onwards and reopened as the concert hall of the ''Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester'' in 1984 with a gala concert. The exterior, including many of the sculptures of composers by

Christian Friedrich Tieck Christian Friedrich Tieck (14 August 1776 – 24 May 1851), often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a occasional artist in oils. His work was primarily figurative and includes both public statuary and private commissions ...

and

Balthasar Jacob Rathgeber Balthazar, Balthasar, Baltasar, or Baltazar may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Balthazar'' (novel), by Lawrence Durrell, 1958 * ''Balthasar'', an 1889 book by Anatole France * ''Professor Balthazar'', a Croatian animated TV series, ...

, is a faithful reconstruction of Schinkel's designs, while the interior was adapted in a Neoclassical style meeting the conditions of the altered use. The great hall is equipped with a notable four-manual

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

built by

Jehmlich Orgelbau Dresden Jehmlich Orgelbau Dresden is a privately owned organ building and restoration company in Dresden, Germany. History The company was founded in 1808 in Cämmerswalde by three brothers, Gotthelf Friedrich, Johann Gotthold und Carl Gottlieb Jehmlich. ...

in 1984. The organ has four manuals and pedal, 74 stops and 5,811 pipes. In 1994 the venue was renamed the "Konzerthaus Berlin". As of 2004, the hall's acoustics were considered to be among the five best concert venues in the world for music and/or opera.Long, Marshall
"What Is So Special About Shoebox Halls? Envelopment, Envelopment, Envelopment"
''Acoustics Today'', April 2009, pp. 21–25. . The other venues are Buenos Aires' Teatro Colon, Vienna's

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

, the

Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls: * Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium * Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands {{disambiguation Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...

in Amsterdam, and Boston's Symphony Hall.

Gallery

Schauspielhaus berlin.jpg, Karl Friedrich Schinkel's design, copper engraving, about 1830 150524 Konzerthaus Berlin (Nacht) - clone.jpg, Konzerthaus Berlin at night (2015) BerlinKonzerthaus.JPG, Interior in 2005

Notes

Bibliography

* Felix Pestemer: ''Alles bleibt anders : das Konzerthaus Berlin und seine Geschichte(n)'', avant-verlag (Verlag), Berlin 2021, ISBN 978-3-96445-046-3, .

External links

* {{Authority control Concert halls in Germany Music venues in Berlin 1821 establishments in the German Confederation Karl Friedrich Schinkel buildings Rebuilt buildings and structures in Berlin Neoclassical architecture in Germany Greek Revival architecture in Germany Neoclassical architecture in Berlin