Simply the best? Is the Berlin Philharmonic really better than all the rest?
The Berlin Philharmonic, widely regarded as one of the world's finest orchestras, is performing at the Proms in London this week under chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, following its first visit to Scotland in over 20 years to close the Edinburgh International Festival. The orchestra's enduring reputation, built up over more than a century despite changes in conductors, personnel and political upheaval, raises questions about what actually makes an orchestra "the best" and how Berlin has sustained that status through decades of transformation.
The orchestra's history is far from straightforward: founded in 1882, it became the Nazi-sponsored Reichsorchester in 1933, forcing out its Jewish members and being exploited for propaganda purposes, including at the 1936 Olympics and Nuremberg rallies. Its post-war rehabilitation under Herbert von Karajan recast it as a symbol of West Berlin's freedom and pioneered new recording and streaming technology, culminating in today's Digital Concert Hall. Yet the article notes the orchestra lags behind rivals in repertoire innovation and diversity, with only one female conductor, Elim Chan, scheduled to lead it next season and few works by female composers programmed.
- Berlin Philharmonic plays the Proms this week under Kirill Petrenko.
- Orchestra's Nazi-era past contrasts with its later celebrated reputation.
- Despite acclaim, it lags on repertoire diversity and female representation.
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The Berlin Philharmonic, founded in 1882, is one of the world's most celebrated orchestras and is currently touring under its chief conductor, Kirill Petrenko, performing at the BBC Proms in London after a recent appearance at the Edinburgh International Festival. It has held a reputation as one of the very best orchestras for over a century, despite many changes in conductors and musicians over that time, which raises the question of what "the best" actually means for an orchestra and how that status has been maintained.
The orchestra's past is not straightforward. During the Nazi era it was taken over by the state, its Jewish members were removed, and it was used for propaganda purposes at events such as the 1936 Olympics. After the Second World War, under conductor Herbert von Karajan, it was rebuilt as a symbol of freedom in West Berlin and became an early adopter of recording technology, later developing its own online streaming service.
Today the orchestra remains highly regarded internationally, but questions have been raised about how far it has kept pace with other leading orchestras when it comes to programming diversity, including the number of female conductors and composers featured in its schedules.