Kottbusser Tor

The performance of Gustav Mahler’s stupendous 6th Symphony by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, capped our trip.

We have for several years been avid followers of the their Digital Concert Hall (a lifeline during Covid lockdowns). We had always longed to see and hear the orchestra playing in their unique concert hall. But the distance and expense made it impossible.

Now we made it happen, on a beautiful spring evening. And it was worth every penny. 7pm in spring in Berlin is like full day at home.

A handy pretzel-seller filled a hollow (we were too busy writing today’s blog to go down for tea.)

Groups of people drifted in, a few in smart chic, most in street clothes. I was struck by how many young prople there were. A large party of 30-odd late teens and early twenties were setting up a group photo on the forecourt - “drei-zwei-ein!” Click!

We made our way inside and sussed out the WC, as they are known in these parts. Not before time. The queue for the womens’ loo was five when I arrived, and out the door by the time I left.

The seats took a bit of finding, but we were very pleased with them when we got there. A feature of this hall is that the audience surrounds the orchestra, instead of being lined up in neat rows in front. We were looking down at the conductor, seeing him almost front on, with a clear view of the violins, cellos, double-basses and the eight French horns. Also the extraordinary range of percussion effects in this mighty symphony (you can see from the cartoon that the Viennese critics found them hard to take). Besides the usual timpani (boy, do they get a workout!) and snare drums (for the rat-a-tat of marching soldiers). there’s a celeste (think Sugar Plum Fairy), cow bells and hand bells, a huge gong as tall as the player, and a massive wooden hammer with a head the width of a small tree-trunk and handle four feet long. At the grand climax this strikes a solid woodblock (so hard a chip flew up in the air in front of us).

Mahler’s 6th creates a whole world of sounds and moods, from the utmost delicacy to woozy waltzes over vulgar farting noises. Grand drama to bucolic scenes of grazing cows clonking their bells. Terrifying marching armies, a crash that has you jumping in your seat.
Wow! What an orchestra, and what a conductor!

The visuals: the flash of brass as eight French horns lift up precisely together. The violin bows in parallel. The double-bass players bending in concert to their work. The lucky guy who gets to whack the gong taking up station, creating this extraordinary BONG! then draping a blanket demurely over the top to mute it, and stop it echoing the sounds of the orchestra.

And when this epic comes to its end, a moment of silence, then ten minutes of standing ovation for Dudamel (who has been standing for 90 minutes, conducting from memory). Then his acknowledgement to various key players and sections of the orchestra. I thought the guy wielding Thor’s hammer deserved a Les Mills medal.

Altogether an extraordinary experience. I am in awe at the depth and quality of German musical culture. They do classical music as we do rugby. The concert we heard, filling a hall with 2100 listeners, was repeated two more nights to full houses.

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