Berlin Philharmonic (Berliner Philharmoniker) is the largest symphony orchestra in Germany, based in Berlin.
It was founded in 1882 by a group of 54 musicians from Benjamin Bilse's orchestra who refused to go on a traditional summer tour to Warsaw in a 4th class railway carriage. Initially the orchestra performed under the name Frühere Bilsesche Kapelle (former Bilsese Orchestra), then it was called Kapelle von Brenner (after the name of the first leader), the present name has been used since 1887.
Already under Hans von Bülow the Berliner Philharmoniker became one of the best German orchestras, and under Arthur Nikisch and Wilhelm Furtwängler it reached the world level.
The orchestra's activities are financed by the City of Berlin together with Deutsche Bank. It is a multiple winner of Grammy, Gramophone, ECHO and other music awards.
The building that originally housed the orchestra was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1944. In the post-war years, the orchestra often gave open-air concerts amid the ruins, raising funds to rebuild the concert hall. The modern building of the Berliner Philharmoniker was built in 1963 on the grounds of Berlin's Kulturforum (Potsdamer Platz), designed by German architect Hans Scharun.
In 1945 the orchestra found itself in the American zone of occupation and was based in West Berlin during the division of Germany, from 1949 to 1990.
Leaders:
Ludwig von Brenner (1882-1887).
Hans von Bülow (1887-1893).
Arthur Nikisch (1895-1922).
Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922-1945).
Leo Borchardt (1945).
Sergiu Celibidache (1945-1952).
Wilhelm Furtwängler (1952-1954).
Herbert von Karajan (1954-1989).
Claudio Abbado (1989-2002).
Sir Simon Rattle (2002-2018).
Kirill Petrenko (2019-).
