Berlin-Brandenburg

In the present musical topography of Germany's capital, the 20th century dominates. To its early musical history (16th -17th c.) only one address refers (> 1.51); from the musically flourishing era of Frederic the Great and the 19th c. are more traces to find, but we miss the beautiful house of the Mendelssohns in the Leipziger Straße, centre of home concerts (destroyed). Many music temples from the late 19th c. disappeared, incl. the important Kroll-Oper in Tiergarten; the old Philharmonie where Bülow, Nikisch, Furtwängler conducted made place for the remarkable tent-like 'Circus Karajani'. The renowned Stern'sche Konservatorium (1850) was incorporated in the Hochschule in 1869.
The peak of Berlin‘s musical life, the early 20th century and the ‘roaring‘ 1920s offers the most clues, both in serious music (Schreker, Schönberg, Hindemith, Busoni) and in entertainment (M. Dietrich, Comedian Harmonists, etc.). The two worlds came together in the music of Kurt Weill and in the cabaret Überbrettl (1901-02) at which Schönberg and Oscar Straus cooperated. Many houses of the leading figures carry a plaque, often made by the 'Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur'.
After 1933 the loss of many composers, performers and teachers, the severe war damages and the division west-east (BRD-DDR) until 1990 caused much problems, but the musical life retained an exceptionally high level.
For all performances, festivals and venues:  > www.berlin.de/kultur-und-tickets

Monument of the flute playing and composing king Frederic the Great (Friedrich II) by C.D. Rauch, 1851

built by Knobelsdorff and opened in 1742 - for fascinating history full of triumphs and disasters see > www.staatsoper-berlin.org

Very rich music department. Collection (begun 1661) partly in this building (1909), partly in Tiergarten (> 11125), partly still in Silesia (since the war)

roman catholic cathedral, built 1747-73 -  famous choir - Giuseppe Sarti was buried here (†1802, passing through from Petersburg to Italy)

actual department of musicology  - established in 1904, at that time in the main building at Unter den Linden 6

former building of Singakademie, est. 1791, CF Fasch, Zelter - FP of Bach's Matthäus Passionconducted by Mendelssohn, 1829

The Royal National Theatre from 1786, at which Mozart visited a performance of his Entführung aus dem Serail and only was recognized after an openly outspoken critical remark,  was demolished to make room for the Schauspielhaus (Schinkel, 1818-21).  FP Weber's Freischütz, 1821 - appearances by Paganini, Liszt, Wagner. Since 1984 concert hall. In the pavement of the Gendarmenmarkt are plaques of Beethoven and Lortzing with citations.

on this location was the last house of Giacomo Meyerbeer, 1864

successor of the music academy of Berlin-DDR, est. in 1950 in Grotewohlstraße (now Wilhelmstraße 53 - annex there)

Michael Glinka died in 1857 in Berlin, visiting his theory teacher Siegfried Dehn - (first grave > 11431)

built in 1890 (auditorium) and 1966 (façade) - not only 'comic' operas - predecessor: 1764-99

built in 1910 as skating hall - from 1923 'Revuetheater im Admiralspalast' - 1945-55 substitute of Staatsoper - operetta and musical

First house of Jean Sibelius during his stay 1889-90 (afterwards: Magdeburger Straße 31 and Kurfürstenstraße 40)

FP Dreigroschenoper (1928) and Happy End (1929) by Brecht-Weill - today 'Berliner Ensemble', founded by Brecht (mostly drama)

House of Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel with exhibition

Graves of Brecht (†1956) and of the main DDR-composers: Hanns Eisler (†1962), Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (†1969), Paul Dessau (†1979)

rich archive of 20th c. music, esp. of teachers and pupils of the academy - many MSs - see > www.adk.de/de/archiv/archivbestand

house of Albert Lortzing, 1850-†1851

graves of Wilhelm Bach (†1845), Albert Lortzing (†1851), Carl Bechstein (†1900), Siegfried Dehn (music librarian, Glinka's teacher, †1858)

grave of Otto Nicolai (†1849 after one year as opera director) - grave of singer Anna Milder-Hauptmann (first Fidelio, †1838)

grave of Giacomo Meyerbeer (†1864 in Paris)

experimental music theatre ('dramaturgisch innovativste Musiktheater Berlins')  - see > www.neukoellneroper.de

grave of Carl Friedrich Zelter (†1832)

birthplace of Carl Friedrich Zelter, °1758 - plaque to high for the naked eye

fine organ by Joachim Wagner, 1721, 3 manuals, 40 stops

Large museum behind the reconstructed façade of the Berliner Schloß, once the home of the musical king, Frederic the Great. It houses the large musical collection of the former Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem:  3000 ethnic instruments and 150.000 recordings, including the valuable collection of Stumpf and Hornbostel of fieldwork recordings from the early 20th century.

graves of musical scions of the Hohenzollern: Anna Amalia (†1787) and Louis Ferdinand (†1806) - Friedrich II rests in Potsdam (> 11701)

oldest church of Berlin - Johann Crüger, organist and cantor 1622-†1662; he was buried in the church (plaque, no tombstone) - concerts

extant house of editor C.F. Nicolai: house concerts (c. 1800) - plaque of C.F. Zelter, originally a bricklayer, who renovated this house

Albert Lortzing's birthplace (°1805) was destroyed - original location of the 'Ermelerhaus' was in this street; see > 57

The Swedish composer Franz Berwald on this spot ran an orthopedical institute from 1835 to1841.  Plaque in the pavement.

reconstruction (1968) of the house of tobacco merchant Wilhelm Ermeler (19th c.): home concerts, even a performance of Eurianthe (1836)

Department of local music- and theatre history, collection of mechanical instruments

Plaque of the operetta composer Paul Lincke (!866-1946) with his best known melody, Berliner Luft, Luft, Luft...  Also a Lincke bust in this street.

Former Kammergericht (court house), built 1735, where ETA Hoffmann, worked 1818-22. - Today a part of the Jewish Museum.

Area with various cemeteries. On the Dreifatigkeitskirchhof are the graves of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn and their parents and of Fanny's husband Hensel, but Felix's wife Cécile is lacking. In the chapel is an exhibition on the Mendelssohn family  -  On the western side of the area (Kirchhof der Jerusalems- und neuen Kirchengemeinde) are the graves of Carl F.C. Fasch (†1800), E.T.A. Hoffmann (†1822) and the piano virtuoso Carl (Karol) Tausig (†1871)

Mendelssohn monument (Ivo Beuker, 1967)

showroom of the Bechstein piano factory  -  see > www.bechstein.de

Former huge Bechstein factory altered into an apartment building - the factory moved to Seifhennersdorf, > d09

Famous, tent-like concert hall, nicknamed 'Circus Karajani' (H. Scharoun, 1960-63), home of the Berliner Philharmoniker - see > www.berliner-philharmoniker.de

Rich museum of musical instruments (MIM), belonging to the State Institute of Music Research  -  > www.sim.spk-berlin.de

part of the rich music collection of the Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz ('Bereich 2')

monuments of Wagner (1903), 'Musiker' (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, 1904),  Lortzing (1906) and 'Volkslied' (1910 - photo).  - chimes

performances of world music and avant-garde

appearance of Hindemith with a singer on Christmas 1933, when his friend Hans Flesch was emprisoned here by the Nazis

musik academy (< Inst. f. Kirchenmusik, 1822 - Stern'sche Konservatorium, 1850 - Hochschule f. M., 1869) - see > udk-berlin.de  > 'musik'

concert halls of the music academy

centre of the jewish community - plaque in honour of the singers Richard Tauber and Joseph Schmidt

built 1896 - Hans Pfitzner, 1903-07 - 'Volksoper' in the Nazi era, Städtische Oper 1945-61 - today theatre for musicals

former 'Hotel am Steinplatz' (art nouveau) - Schönberg stayed here in 1926, teaching at the 'Meisterklasse' - now home for the elderly

built in 1961 - FP operas by Blacher and Henze - predecessor Städtische Oper, 1912-42; FP Die Burgschaft by Weill (1932: Nazi riots)

hall and underground decorated with images from Wagner operas

built 1695 as 'Lietzenburg' - music performances, first opera La Festa del Hymeneo, 1700 - #W Pepusch - two harpsichords by Mietke

former Pension Haßforth - Kurt Weill 1926-27, working at the Dreigroschenoper

The Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas lived here 1929-33, following lessons from Jarnach, Weill and Schönberg.

Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, 1928-32

Paul Hindemith, 1927-34 (at the time 'Sachsenplatz')

grave of the violinist and friend of Brahms, Joseph Joachim, †1907

In 1936 performances of Olympische Hymne by R.Strauss, Olymp. Reigen by Orff, Olymp. Festmusik by Egk (gold medal) and Olymp. Schwur by Höffer

built 1934-36 - open air theatre, concerts, cinema with 22.000 seats - part of the Olympia complex

Richard Strauss stayed here, 1913-17 (work at the Hofoper, 1898-1918)

graves of Eduard Künneke (†1953), Leo Blech (†1958) and Ernst Pepping (†1981)

house of Eduard Künneke, 1939-†1953

house of Leo Blech, 1913-37

house of Emil Nikolaus von Rezniček, 1902-†1945 -  on nr. 30 was the first house of R. Strauss in Berlin (not extant)

house of the pianist and composer Arthur Schnabel, 1906-33

house of Rudolf Nelson (Levyson), 1922-32 -  famous 'Nelson-Revues'

House of the violin virtuoso Fritz Kreisler, 1924-33

house of Engelbert Humperdinck, 1908-12 - cooperation with the dancer Isidora Duncan

bronze relief of the violinist and Brahms friend Joseph Joachim, the first director of the Musikhochschule, 1869-1907

monument of Stolz 'Robert-Stolz-Anlage' (1984) - he lived in Berlin 1924-36

here Bertolt Brecht wrote the text of The Three Pennies Opera

house of the versatile actor, writer and musician Friedrich Hollaender until 1933 - composer of Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß ...

house of Hans Pfitzner, 1899-1907

house of Leon Jessel, 1925-41 - Schwarzwaldmädel, Parade der Zinnsoldaten -  killed by Nazis in 1942

Edgard Varèse lived here 1908-13 - several MSs were left behind and got lost - also house of popular composer Ben Bern (plaque)

house of Robert Stolz, 1929-35

Theo Mackeben †1953 - composer and conductor (FP Dreigroschenoper)

the theatre composer Walter Kollo (= E.W.Kollodzieyski) lived here

birthplace of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler; house rebuilt

Ferruccio Busoni lived here until his death in 1924, teaching a.o. Kurt Weill - house rebuilt - also plaque for the movie director Billie Wilder

graves of Max Bruch (†1920) and Xaver Scharwenka (†1924)

birthplace of the famous actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (°1901 as Maria Magdalena von Losch)

house of Max Bruch, 1891-†1920

graves of Ferruccio Busoni (†1924, sculpture by Georg Kolbe) and of Marlene Dietrich

here the famous vocal group 'Comedian Harmonists' started in 1927 their cooperation, which was broken up in 1935

Arnold Schönberg lived here from 1913 to 1915

grave of Franz Schreker, working at the Musikhochschule from 1920, dismissed in 1933, died in 1934 - grave of Rudolf Nelson (†1960)

house of Boris Blacher, 1958-†1975

grave of Boris Blacher (†1975)

grave of the Korean composer Isang Yun (†1995) - from 1970 until 1985 he taught at the music academy

Michail Glinka died in Berlin, 1857, and was buried here temporarily (actual grave in St. Petersburg) - original tombstone extant

last house of Hanns Eisler

organ built for princess Anna Amalia by Peter Migendt, 1756, 2 man., 22 stops - often played by C.Ph.E. Bach - later transferred hither

In the garden a monument, remembering the visit of Mozart to Berlin in 1789. -  In the castle a Rückers harpsichord.

House of the composer Paul Dessau (1894-1979), from 1948 living in Zeuthen, from 1954 with his wife, the choreographer Ruth Berghaus.

School with emphasis on musical education ('musikbetont'). Dessau worked here; there are Dessau memorabilia.

last house of Hugo Distler from 1940 until 1942, when he died from suicide

plaque of Hugo Distler, inhabitant of Strausberg.

House of the couple Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel, with exhibition.

first meeting of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya (1924) in the house of playwright Georg Kaiser, working at Der Protagonist

Xaver Scharwenka lived in this wooden villa, 1911-24; he called it his 'Musenhütte'; now a museum on the Scharwenka brothers and the musical life around 1900.

villa of Kurt Weill, built in 1932 and hastily left in 1933 -- the nearby striking Villa Lepcke of Schönberg (1911-15) was destroyed

Südwestkirchhof (I): graves of Engelbert Humperdinck (†1921) and Hugo Distler (†1942) - Waldfriedhof (II): grave of Emil Nikolaus von Rezniček (†1945)

Residence of the kings of Prussia. Musical life especially during the reigns of Friedrich II (Frederic the Great, 1740-86) and Friedrich Wilhelm II, III, IV (1786-1861). Bach visited the king in 1747 in the City castle (Musikalisches Opfer!) and played the Joachim Wagner organs of the Heiliggeistkirche and Garnisonskirche; all these buildings were demolished in DDR years. Mozart met J.P. Duport in 1789 but missed the king  -  FP Sommernachtstraum by Mendelssohn in 1843  -  After the destruction of the theatre from 1795, some operas were performed in the Hans-Otto-Theater, but its futurist successor (2006) offers mainly spoken drama.

palace of Friedrich II, from 1747; music room with fortepiano by Silbermann. Benda, CPE Bach, Graun, Quantz were active here. -  grave of Friedrich II

palace of Friedrich II, from 1767, and Friedrich Wilhelm; two music rooms with fortepianos - Theatre: Mendelssohn composed incidental music for performances.

built in 1768 as a monument, commemorating Frederic's beloved sister Wilhelmine (> Bayreuth, d06)

built in 1844 - the conductor Furtwängler lived here from the 1930s until his death in 1952; an air-raid shelter was built in for him…

house of the court cellist and later 'Kammermusikdirektor' Jean-Pierre Duport; his brother Jean-Louis (FP Beethoven op. 5) lived next door

modern concert hall (2000) after two predecessors (1909 and 1934-58) - for history and program see > www.nikolaisaal.de

house of the court horn players Türschmidt and Palsa - Mozart is said to have stayed here in May 1789

the grave of Joh. Joachim Quantz (†1773) was cleared out, but the tombstone was replaced here in 1865 - his house not extant

house of the Benda family, bought but not occupied by Franz Benda - there used to be a plaque

Carl Friedrich Zelter spent his youth in Petzow - house demolished in 1980s; from remains neighbours built a rockery

organ by Joachim Wagner, 1725, 2 manuals, 33 stops;  front by Joh. Georg Glume d.Ä. - concerts

organ front by Joh. Georg Glume d.Ä. , 1726 - the interior by Joachim Wagner was changed

Graun-Zimmer, exhibition about the Graun brothers. Other Heimatstube on Doberluger Straße 8.

Well preserved organ by Gottfried Silbermann, 1718, II/p/22.

fine art nouveau theatre, built 1906-08 by Bernhard Sehring - saved from war destruction, see >  www.staatstheater-cottbus.de

in the castle a grand piano, played by Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann - Musiklaube in the park with bust of singer Henriette Sontag

The composer Johann Crüger (1598-1662) was born here.

the singer, actress and composer Corona Schröter was born in Guben, 1751; monument near the ruins of the former theatre.

Michael Praetorius and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach studied at the Viadrina university (the then building demolished apart from an entrance gate)

Former Franciscan monastery church, concert hall since 1967 - home of the Brandenburg State Orchestra - in the sacristy exhibition about C.Ph.E. Bach [46] - two organs by Sauer (1866, 1975)

Between 1929 and 1941, idealistic teacher's school and workshop for musical education in a striking building - 1945-90 'Kleist theater', today mostly empty.

Local musical history and Berol Kaiser-Reka collection of instruments in the baroque 'Junkerhaus' - chamber music hall

former Huguenot church from 1677 - bust of the song composer Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, died here in 1800.

There used to be an exhibition about J.A.P. Schulz; possibly still there.

residence of  Friedrich II as crown-prince, 1736-40 ('the happiest years of my life') -  Benda, Graun, CPE Bach were active here - garden theatre

performances in the castle theatre since 2000

since 1991 music academy (workshops, practice rooms, guest house) - Kammeroper

Grave of G.L. Pitscher, court musician of Frederic's brother Heinrich, the next occupant of the castle -  JP Salomon and JAP Schulz have worked here