Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall Celebrates 15 Years Of Live And On-Demand Concert Streaming

For over 15 years, the Berliner Philharmoniker has been the only cultural organization to offer a worldwide audience a chance to experience every concert program of its season live, alongside a constantly growing archive of more than 800 concerts, through its state-of-the-art Digital Concert Hall. Ahead of the Berliner Philharmoniker's November U.S. tour, the orchestra performs both tour programs at home in Berlin, which will be available to stream on the Digital Concert Hall. 

 

The orchestra's 2024-2025 season-opening concert program of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 5, conducted by Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko—which will be heard on tour in New York (Nov 18), Boston (Nov 20), Ann Arbor (Nov 24), and Chicago (Nov 26) — is streaming now. The program comprising Sergei Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Violin Concerto, and Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 — to be performed in Washington (Nov 15), New York (Nov 17 and 19), and Ann Arbor (Nov 23) — will be available to stream live from the Philharmonie Berlin via the Digital Concert Hall on November 8 at 2 pm ET, and then on-demand.

 

"For 15 years, the Digital Concert Hall has allowed us to share the magic of the Berliner Philharmoniker with the world, breaking down the barriers of geography to bring our music closer to our audiences,” said Olaf Maninger, principal cellist, Media Board Member,and General Manager of Berlin Phil Media GmbH. “It's not simply about watching a concert; it's about creating a shared experience that connects people to the sound and soul of the orchestra. As we celebrate this milestone, we continue to look forward, embracing new technologies and expanding our reach to inspire and engage audiences around the world."

 

Legacy of the Digital Concert Hall

 

The Digital Concert Hall provides an unprecedented opportunity for audiences across the globe to experience the Berliner Philharmoniker, one of the world's great orchestras, from the comfort of home. The Berliner Philharmoniker decided to become its own producer and start streaming concerts in 2008, so as not to be dependent on record companies and television stations. The orchestra installed silent, remote-controlled cameras throughout the auditorium in the Philharmonie Berlin to ensure the highest quality video and audio capture, resulting in a streaming experience that approaches the level of attending a live concert.

 

On January 6, 2009, the Berliner Philharmoniker livestreamed its first-ever concert, conducted by then Chief Conductor-Sir Simon Rattle. Since then, the orchestra has streamed all of its weekly concert programs, approximately 40 per season. Shortly after being livestreamed, the concerts are edited and added to the constantly growing archive of the Digital Concert Hall, which currently comprises over 800 concerts, including historical broadcasts from the eras of Claudio Abbado, Herbert von Karajan, and others. 

 

In addition to the trove of complete concert broadcasts, the Digital Concert Hall includes extensive materials that enhance the enjoyment of the music, including interviews and profiles of orchestra musicians, conductors, and guest soloists, documentaries and films about the orchestra's history, educational programming, family concerts, and more—much of it free of charge to anyone with a Digital Concert Hall account. 

 

Digital Concert Hall content is broadcast in the best possible sound and picture quality. The concerts can be viewed on all current TV app interfaces, on the internet and on mobile devices in ultra-high definition (UHD 4K) and with outstanding image dynamics (HDR). The entire archive is available in standard and lossless audio. For the last three seasons, subscribers can choose between standard audio quality, lossless audio signal broadcast in studio quality (Hi-Res Audio) and a three-dimensional sound experience in Immersive Audio via Dolby Atmos.

 

Subscriptions to the Digital Concert Hall, which grant access to all available live and archived broadcasts of the Berliner Philharmoniker, are available for $19 per month or $183 per year.

 

Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings

 

The Berliner Philharmoniker's ambitious media output extends beyond the Digital Concert Hall to its own recording label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. To mark the milestone, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings launched a new series featuring selected recordings with soloists drawn from the orchestra's great musicians. The first of these, featuring First Concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley performing works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Leone Sinigaglia, was released on June 21, 2024. The second release, with First Principal Viola Amihai Grosz performing works by William Walton and Bohuslav Martinů, came out on September 27, 2024. Also to be released this fall are a comprehensive homage to Seiji Ozawa on CD and Blu-ray, and Herbert von Karajan's radio recordings, featuring mostly previously unreleased material, on 23 CDs.

 

Since the first release on the label of Robert Schumann's four symphonies conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings has subsequently released recordings of symphonies by Sibelius, Beethoven, Mahler, and more; special concerts including former Principal Conductor Claudio Abbado's final concert; Peter Sellars's stagings of J.S. Bach's Passions; partnerships with artists such as Mitsuko Uchida, John Adams, and Unsuk Chin; and the joint discography of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko.

 

As with the Digital Concert Hall, audio quality is given highest priority, so as to do justice to the unique sound of the Berliner Philharmoniker. All recordings are made using state-of-the-art technology and are available on CD, SACD, Blu-ray disc, vinyl and as studio-quality downloads and streams. They are supplemented by concert videos, a wide range of bonus material, and extensive accompanying books with in-depth original contributions by renowned authors. The lavishly designed hardcover editions are created in collaboration with outstanding artists and offer a complete art and music experience.

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