Berlin: Triumphant Debut at the Philharmonie

The SFS Youth Orchestra arrives in Germany’s capital, Berlin, just in time to see the country’s national soccer team lose to Spain in the European Championships. While the mood of the country is a bit sour, as they live for their soccer team over here, most recognize that the better team won, and are able to move on with their lives. And they must move on with their lives; after all, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra is in town!



Members of the YO have been eagerly awaiting this tour stop: exceedingly excited for what awaits them in this fascinating city as well as performing here in this cultural Mecca. Berlin has arguably one of the great concert halls in the world and the importance of the YO debut in the Philharmonie is not lost on anyone on tour. But the Philharmonic will have to wait. First a bit of sightseeing to get to know Berlin.


The Berlin Wall


YO members at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin

Berlin’s history has modest beginnings as a regional trading center in the 13th century, but has taken center stage in 20th century world history, as ground zero for World War I, II, the Cold War, and then reunification of a divided country after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. Today, with a population of 3.5 million, it is the heart of modern Germany and Europe’s capital of cool, a dynamic and creative city with grand public buildings, glorious museums, theaters and concert halls, and vibrant cultural life.

The YO pays a visit to one of Germany’s great palaces, Sans Souci, just outside Berlin in Potsdam. Built in 1745 as a summer palace for Frederic the Great, Sans Souci is Germany’s more intimately Rococo version of Versailles.


Members of the YO in Potsdam


The YO also arrives at a time when Berlin is celebrating an important anniversary. At the end of World War II, Berlin, as was the rest of Germany, was also divided into four occupation zones, and all four allies retained shared responsibility for Berlin. But a political power play led the Soviet Union (which controlled the eastern part of the city) to impose an economic blockade of Berlin in June 1948, essentially holding a city hostage, shut off within the Soviet controlled East German sector. The US and its allies successfully overcame the blockade through a heroic effort of airlifting food and supplies into the city for almost an entire year. The numbers are staggering, over 280,000 flights carried in over 2,000,000 tons of food and supplies to the grateful residents of Berlin. The YO arrives in Germany as the country celebrates the 60th anniversary of the airlift. German Consul for Cultural Affairs in San Francisco, Karsten Tietz, attended the YO bon voyage concert last Sunday at Davies Symphony Hall and remarked to SFSYO patrons and donors that this anniversary is a very important and deeply meaningful to all Germans and cemented, an event that cemented German- American friendship in the immediate post-war era. The planes that brought food and supplies were affectionately known as "Candy Bombers", delivering a few luxurious treats for Berlin’s many homeless children along with the lifesaving supplies.


One of the planes used in the Berlin airlift is lifted itself

Today, the orchestra visits one of the visible remnants of the cold war and separation of Berlin, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie, an infamous crossover from West to East.



But the raison d’etre for this visit to Germany’s capital is, of course, the debut of the SFSYO at the famed Berlin Philarmonie. The gold colored modernist structure (one doesn’t dare say yellow…) was built in 1963 and designed by Hans Scharoun. It is widely regarded as having some of the best acoustics in the world. And home to the equally famed Berlin Philharmonic, one of the top orchestras in the world, and a very knowledgeable audience, performing at the Berlin Philharmonie is special for any orchestra, be it the San Francisco Symphony or the Youth Orchestra.


The Berlin Philharmonie

Members of the Orchestra arrive and take in the sights and sounds of the hall, many taking photos, thrilled that this moment has arrived. How many people can say they have played on the stage of the Berlin Phil, or the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, or the Vienna Musikverein? This is what makes the SFSYO such an incredible program for the young musicians. Whether they go on to musical careers or not (and about 30% of the orchestra does), noone can take away the memories of playing in some of the world’s great concert venues and the camaraderie that goes along with this experience.






French horn player Kalyn Jang in front of the Berlin Philharmonie. Don't miss Kalyn's YO tour diary in the SF Chronicle tomorrow. Kalyn will report three times for the paper throughout the tour. Joshua Kosman look out!

But only 2 months ago, many weren’t sure this moment would happen. On May 20th, freak welding accident caused the roof of the Berlin Philharmonie to erupt in flames. Luckily, and through efforts of the local fire brigades, the damage was kept mainly to the roof and only several weeks of concerts needed to be canceled to repair the hall enough to continue. The roof will need repair, and the YO concert will be the closing concert of the Philharmonie’s season before repairs begin.


The Berlin Philharmonie two months ago, in flames.

Berlin’s audiences are passionate and knowledgeable, as for many Germans, classical music is a normal part of their everyday lives. While German schools don’t have programs like the SFS’s Adventures in Music, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, music instruction is a part of the school curriculum, and concert halls and orchestras receive much state funding to keep prices reasonable for all to attend classical concerts on a regular basis. That being said, Berlin audiences are fickle, and one never knows how concerts like this will sell in summer months, especially not being part of a festival. But Berliners know their music and they know a good orchestra when they see one. Media placements, posters, radio previews all heralded the arrival of the Orchestra, and tickets were in high demand.

In fact, the concert in Berlin is sold out! Eager patrons are turned away at the door. The SFSYO has filled the Philharmonie....quite a feat. The SFSYO has a rightly deserved reputation as one of the world’s best Youth Orchestras, having performed regularly in the great concert halls of Europe every three or four years, and the Berliners are anxious to hear what these Californians can do. Reviewers from the major daily papers are in attendance and awaiting the show.








The moment has arrived, concert time at the Berlin Philharmonie. And in my humble opinion, the Orchestra delivered one of the finer performances this blog writer has seen the YO perform. The warmth of the strings, the crispness of the winds and brass, and the ensemble playing as one made believers out of 2400+ Berliners. In Germany, the term Youth Orchestra usually refers to orchestras with twentysomethings populating the stage. When a group ages 12-21 shows up and delivers a performance of that magnitude, an audience is genuinely moved. Standing ovations and shouting "Zugabe, Zugabe" (encore, encore) are rare in Berlin, but shout they did, and stand they did. The program was the same as that in Rostock, Adams Lollapolooza, Sibelius Violin Concerto with Julian Rachlin, who again played magnificently, and then the Dvorak Symphony No. 9 From the New World. The Berlin audience demanded three encores, but they wanted more. Finally, Maestro Benjamin Schwartz took concertmaster Hannah Tarley by the hand and left the stage….or else we may still be there cheering. Even the Berlin Philharmonic’s Sound Engineer, who was taping the concert remarked what a “wonderful sound” this orchestra has. Not bad praise from someone who has seen and heard a lot. All in all, a triumphant debut at the Berlin Phil. The gleaming faces of the young musicians from San Francisco showed it all: they blew the roof off the joint and they knew it. But that’s okay, the roof needed fixing anyway.

Arrival in Germany: with a slightly nautical theme

The San Francisco Symphohny Youth Orchestra’s 8th international tour is off and running. 104 very excited members of the SFSYO, ranging in ages from 12-21 cross the Atlantic and arrive in the first tour city, Rostock, the northeastern Gerrman seaport town on the Baltic.



For many young musicians, this tour is their first trip out of the United States, to Europe or into Germany. After arrival at Berlin’s Tegel Airport, the Orchestra makes its way to Rostock, and the three hour bus ride through the wooded Mecklenburg-Vorpommern countryside goes quickly. Jet lag is just a state of mind when such exciting times loom ahead. The chatter of what to expect in Germany, in the concert halls, in the tour cities, the food, the people; fills the buses as the Orchestra arrives and explores the town of Rostock.





With a population of just under 200,000, Rostock has a rich seafaring history dating back to the middle ages, and soon became a powerful member of the Hanseatic League in the 14th century. Large sailing ships were built in its shipyards from medieval times until the 19th century, where the first German steamships were built. The University of Rostock, one of Northern Europe’s oldest, was founded here in 1419 and had as a professor one Albert Einstein.





For most, Rostock is the first glimpse of what used to be East Germany. After being defeated in World War II, Germany was divided into 4 sectors, each controlled by one of the victorious allies. While the western sectors controlled by the Americans, British, and French were to become a revived democratic Germany, the northeastern sector was controlled by the Russians, who, in the years following the war, shut off its borders and formed a communist state as part of its eastern bloc of puppet states, separate and isolated from its western neighbors and countrymen. This was not just the start of the cold war between Russia and the US, but was a terribly difficult time for Germans. Borders were sealed and friends and family separated, almost overnight … travel was restricted, friends and families separated and unable to see each other, cut off from communication and contact. Under decades of communist rule, life in East Germany was hard, economic woes and oppression took its toll on the people, cities and culture of this half of Germany. But, the eventual fall of the eastern bloc through peaceful demonstrations in the late 80’s finally broke down the walls that separated Germans from Germans for almost 40 years. Today, the east is once again part of a united Germany, and the long task of revitalizing and redeveloping this part of the country is under way. But I digress….

Given Rostock’s history as an important shipbuilding town, it is only fitting that the Youth Orchestra’s first concert venue is...a former shipyard.


The Neptune Shipyard when active decades ago


The Neptune Shipyard today

Built in 1891, the former Neptunwerft shipyard is part of the slow but steady revitalization of eastern Germany, as old industrial complexes are converted into art galleries, performance spaces, residential or commercial buildings. The old shipyard is now used an über-hip industrial chic concert venue, used by the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, which presents the SFSYO concert here in Rostock. The YO performs in “Hall No. 207, Neptune Shipyard.” Not the most romantic sounding name for a concert hall, but the venue works.

Arriving at the concert hall for rehearsal, the unique surroundings make one wonder about acoustics, but those worries are laid to rest immediately as the hall delivers a brilliant sound. Natural light floods in from the glass roof, and the sound carries nicely throughout the outer reaches of the shipyard.







In Rostock, the YO is joined by 34 year old Lithuanian-Austrian violinist Julian Rachlin, as soloist with the Orchestra at this concert and throughout the tour. Rachlin still holds the honor of being the youngest violin soloist to perform with the Vienna Philharmonic. Here in Rostock, Rachlin and the Orchestra perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto.


Julian Rachlin in rehearsal with the YO

The urban industrial chic shipyard concert hall is filled to the brim on this Saturday night, as almost 800 Rostockians make their way to the Shipyard to hear the YO. A few dignitaries dot the crowd: the Rostock mayor, the Music Director of the North German Philharmonic, Rostock Television, and the local newspaper Ostseezeitung are all here to hear this talented group.






Julian Rachlin with SFSYO concertmaster Hannah Tarley


SFSYO Music Director Benjamin Shwartz





And the YO delivers with a magnificent performance for their opening act of the 2008 European Tour. On the program tonight John Adams’ Lollapalooza, the Sibelius Violin Concert with Julian Rachlin and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World. And this talented group of young musicians from the New World is rewarded by the appreciative and attentive audience with three curtain calls. A wildly successful opening to the tour and a well deserved snack of milk and cookies awaits before heading home to the hotel. It's off to the capital tomorrow...Berlin awaits!