Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Music
Just like the city itself, Berlin's music scene is a shape-shifter, fed by the city's
appetite for diversity and change. With at least 2000 active bands and dozens
of indie labels, the city is Germany's undisputed music capital. About 60% of
the country's music revenue is generated here, and it's where Universal Music
and MTV have their European headquarters. Every September, Berlin Music
Week brings together labels, agents, performers, DJs, club owners and fans
for seven days of musical immersion.
The Beauty of Transgression: a Berlin Memoir,by US-born artist Danielle de Picciotto
(partner of Einstürzende Neubauten bassist Andreas Hacke) beautifully captures the at-
mosphere and history of Berlin's creative underground from the 1980s to today.
Beginnings
For centuries Berlin was largely eclipsed by Vienna, Leipzig and other European cities when
it came to music. Notable exceptions include Carl Maria von Weber's
Der Freischütz
(The
Marksman), which premiered in 1821 at today's Konzerthaus on Gendarmenmarkt in 1821
and is considered the first important German Romantic opera. Weber's music also influenced
Berlin-born Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's
A Midsummer Night's Dream
from 1843. The
same year fellow composer Giacomo Meyerbeer became Prussian General Music Director.
The Berliner Philharmoniker was established in 1882 and quickly gained international
stature under Hans von Bülow and, after 1923, Wilhelm Furtwängler. After WWII, Herbert
von Karajan took over the baton. In East Germany, a key figure was Hanns Eisler, composer
of the country's national anthem.
BERLIN TRACKS
1973
Berlin
(Lou Reed) Dark song about the tragedy of two star-crossed junkies.
1977
Heroes
(David Bowie) Two lovers in the shadow of the 'Wall of Shame'.
1991
