Due to the imminent measures taken by the federal and state governments on 28 October 2020, the
Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation has to close both halls (Main Auditorium and Chamber Music Hall)
from November 2-30, 2020. In addition to the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation events, all guest events
in both venues are affected. The Philharmonie’s daily guided tours and the free lunch concerts will also
not take place during this time. The Carte Blanche concert of the Karajan Academy also has to be
cancelled.
The concerts from 30 October through 1 November 2020 are taking place as planned. The Rundfunk
Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) will broadcast the concert of the Berliner Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko
at 8:04 p.m. on rbbKultur and at 10 pm on rbb television. The ticket sale for November is suspended, the
ticket sale for December continues.
“It is hard to have to close the Philharmonie in November yet again. We have developed effective hygiene
and safety rules, new programmes and ideas, to ensure our audience’s safety and well-being. We have
come a far way, which we now have to pause, but will continue to go. Culture and music are more than
just a pleasant pastime. Culture belongs to the foundation of our society – we need it, especially in difficult
times,” says Andrea Zietzschmann, General Manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation.
“From my point of view, stopping our concert is a measure which is taken in the wrong place. Of course,
we all want to hinder the virus from spreading further. We have taken all the necessary regulations and
conditions and are happy to continue to do so. However, together we have to make sure that this socalled lockdown does not turn into a knockdown, especially for our freelance colleagues,” says Kirill
Petrenko, Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker.
“At the beginning of this crisis, the federal government and the chancellor have pointed out the
seriousness of the situation. All cultural institutions have taken the situation always very seriously. We,
the members of the Berliner Philharmoniker, have no understanding for the repeated closure of our
concert halls and all further cultural institutions. The culture scene has already paid a high price for the
previous closure and all of us will have to live with the consequences of the repeated closure for years to
come.
The culture scene has taken the situation very seriously, now we ask to be taken seriously as well,” say
the members of the board of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Stefan Dohr and Knut Weber.
The concert tour to Frankfurt (4 Nov), Cologne (5 Nov), Baden-Baden (7 Nov), and Hamburg (10 Nov)
with the Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of chief conductor Kirill Petrenko also had to be cancelled.
Closure of the Main Auditorium and the Chamber Music Hall of the Philharmonie Berlin due to new regulations.
