Berlin Symphony Orchestra presents its Popular Classics concerts since more than 6o years. The intent remains the same since founder and manager Prof. Victor Hohenfels started to offer to large audiences masterpieces composed by the greatest composers of all time. The orchestra’s home is the Berliner Philharmonie and is well established in the national musical scene, thanks to its incredible artistical work and amount of concerts per season.
Berlin Symphony Orchestra’s concert season comprises 25 to 30 concerts, both in the main and in the chamber music hall. Grouped in thematic series, such as “Greatest symphonies of all time”, “Opera, operetta and ballet” or “Masterpieces from the classic and romantic eras”, the best-known works in musical history are presented to the public. The events called “Most famous film music” offers masterpieces composed by the greatest film music composers.
Principal Conductor Stanley Dodds
During the 2014-2015 concert season Stanley Dodds became Principal Conductor of the orchestra. He plays since 1994 the violin as one of members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and studied at the Karajan Academy. The German-Australian musician had studied violin and conduction before in Linz and Lucerne. He has won several competitions and had a remarkable career both as soloist and as conductor. In this role he assisted Sir Simon Rattle several times.
Stanley Dodds‘ experience is beneficial to the artistic presence of the orchestra: his target is in fact to lead each musician to the maximum of their expressive possibilities, making them fully show his qualities. He is capable of transforming each concert into a real event: he knows how to create a connection between the public and the orchestra, as his interpretation of works such as Beethoven’s Eroica or Ravel’s Boléro clearly show.
The orchestra
Our programs are very demanding: masterpieces from the best classic, romantic and barock composers, such as Tschaikowski, Beethoven, Brahms und Dvorak impose top-level conductors, soloists and orchestras.
Berlin Symphony Orchestra is an excellent orchestra, capable of presenting these works with the highest standards, a target only achievable through an amount of incredibly well prepared members. Among them, many have previous experience in Berlin’s best musical ensembles. Others work since several years with Berlin Symphony Orchestra. This combination leads to full artistic and instrumental realization of the most exigent and popular works in music history.
Soloists and guest conductors
Members of world-leading orchestras such as the Berliner and the Wiener Philharmoniker or the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin are often invited to play with Berlin Symphony Orchestra. All these artists are indeed incredible soloists, with some of them possessing a solid education in conducting. They love working with our orchestra often and enthusiastically, because here they have the possibility to reach as conductors their own artistic milestone, while at the same time presenting to a joyful, also enthusiastic public the most famous masterpieces in music, in the incomparable atmosphere of Berlin’s philharmonic music halls.
The cooperation with Principal Conductor Stanley Dodds and all other guest conductors and soloists enables Berlin Symphony Orchestra to achieve artistic standards while not losing its creative evolution and openness to new inspiration. The orchestra remains true to itself: according to Eva-Maria’s motto, through joy and passion we aim to effer an emotional experience to the public and several hours of relaxation and inner harmony.