Berliner Philharmonie

Excitement built as I approached Hans Scharoun's magnificently designed futuristic gold panel roof symphony hall. Once inside, at awe I was of the simplicity of blankness against the angular spaced interior. Up the stairs, at my seat, whoa, the orchestra is placed in the center of the room!

Sensational acoustic from the very first note from tuning of the Berliner Philharmonic. An exhilarating performance it was with Simone Young as their guest conductor this evening; with each instrument heard, every note felt!

CHEERS!

Almost as an afterthought, we purchased tickets to a performance. It was the unexpected highlight of our visit to Berlin. After arriving almost too late on a hot June evening, we were amazed not only by the principal special guest, but also by the decorum of the audience. Between movements, I listened to silence: not a whisper, not a cough, not a cough-drop wrapper crinkling. Complete respect and appreciation for the opportunity to hear the music. Thanks, Berliner Philharmonie, for a sublimely joyful evening.

Perfectly beautiful and amazing musicians. World class experience. Recommend attending

Pretty good up and coming band. I hope they make it big!

Came for the free Tuesday lunchtime concert and it did not disappoint. I arrived 10 minutes before it started on a June afternoon and was able to get in still.

This was glorious. Do yourself a favor and go see a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic. This orchestra is breathtaking. I went twice, once to a proper concert on a Sunday evening and then again to a FREE (yes!!! Free!!!) Tuesday afternoon lunch concert. They have them every Tuesday.

The Sunday concert was the Mozart A Major Violin Concerto, Saint-Saens Rondo Capriccioso, and Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges.

Both concerts were exquisite. These are some of the best musicians in the world. If you are a classical music lover it is a MUST. If you aren't into
classical, you will still love it, go for the afternoon concert where you can have a drink while listening :)

The Tuesday concert is more casual, usually a chamber music 1 hour concert in the lobby, you can sit on the floor and grab a beer, glass of wine and some lunch.

You will leave feeling inspired!

Absolutely world class venue and music. Efficient crowd control, stellar seats everywhere in the hall, and of course some of the best musicians, conducting, and programming in the world. We heard guest conductor James Levine leading the Staatsoper Orchester in Mahler's Third Symphony one night, and then returned for Sir Simon Rattle conducting Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky with the Berlin Philharmonie. A classical music lover's dream all around.

Magnificent.

It doesn't really matter where you're seated, the sound travels beautifully.

The piece we saw was a bit too avant-garde. The singers were very talented and the orchestra was awesome, but I would have preferred to see something a bit more classical.

I'm docking it one star because I found that the access was very limited. There are a lot of stairs to get around, which worked fine for me as I skipped out on high heels, but not so much for company who had knee problems. Waiting for the lift seemed like a big old waste of time given how small and slow it was.

Coat check was quick and painless.

I'm docking a second point for public transport... Most places I've been to tend to have a service within the establishment that helps ensure guests can find transport home at the end of the event. There is one bus (200), which was jam-packed and not running too often.

We were left standing for nearly 45 minutes for a ride, and people, though lined up in order, were often robbed their ride from people stepping into the street and taxis not stopping where they should. I do feel that, if the establishment took an interest in setting a system up, it'd be a lot more interesting to come back. Most of the people waiting out late were in their 80s, and it was cold and windy and there was no way to wait indoors.

Jesus Christ, what a night. The Berlin philharmonic is hands down the best sounding orchestra in the world...and two weeks ago, I had the chance to see them live at their home concert hall. It was such a treat. I haven't seen them in about 10 years directly in Berlin, but I was so excited and blown away that I literally teared up during the Mahler.

What an incredible orchestra. I always joke with my employer that the only reason why I moved over from California to Germany, is partly because of the Berlin Philharmonic...but am I really kidding....

i stayed up till 3 am in my EST zone to buy tickets for Sir Simon Rattle conducting Beethoven. (whenever the programs are of German composers they seem to get sold out quickly. so you must plan ahead and check the start date of ticket sales.) It was way worth more than losing some sleep and will do it again. if you are an once-aspiring-classical-musician like myself, it would be memorable to sit on the benches right behind the orchestra which seemed uncomfortable but you could pretend you are being conducted by the maestro. (I didn't this time but will try next time.) The written program was 3 euros and entirely in German. Everyone working there was so nice and seemed very happy to be working there: especially the sweet old lady who was wiping toilet seats after each person in the ladies room.