Press Releases
Matthias Pees to be appointed as new Director of Berliner Festspiele
Today, the board of directors of Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB) GmbH, chaired by Monika Grütters, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, appointed the dramaturg, curator and theatre manager Matthias Pees as the new director of Berliner Festspiele. On 1 September 2022, he will take over the position from Thomas Oberender, who has been director of Berliner Festspiele since 2012 and will leave the institution at the end of the year at his own request.
23 September 2021Musikfest Berlin: Standing Ovations for Stravinsky and World Premieres
Yesterday was the last concert of the Musikfest Berlin, organised this year from 28 August to 20 September by the Berliner Festspiele in cooperation with the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker. The 34 concerts with international guest ensembles and the Berlin orchestras in the Philharmonie Berlin, its Chamber Music Hall, the Great Broadcasting Hall of the rbb and the Konzerthaus Berlin were attended by 28,000 visitors – in some cases with reduced seating capacity. The digital offer with live broadcasts in the Digital Concert Hall of the Berliner Philharmoniker and subsequent access on Berliner Festspiele on Demand was visited more than 27,000 times.
21 September 2021The Sun Machine Is Coming Down
With “The Sun Machine Is Coming Down” the Berliner Festspiele are opening the International Congress Centre (ICC) for ten days, which has been unused for years, and will bring this futuristic architectural icon back to life with Berlin-based and international artists featuring new and adapted art from the fields of performance, circus, music, film and installation.
The press preview is on Thursday, 7 October 2021 at 11 am. The ICC will be open to the public from 4 pm. Advance ticket sales started today, 9 September 2 pm.
Musikfest Berlin: Today's ENDOR concert will be postponed
The concert ENDOR tonight at 9 pm in the Chamber Music Hall of the Philharmonie Berlin with Anna Prohaska, Nicolas Altstaedt and Francesco Corti can unfortunately not take place due to illness and will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Tickets already purchased remain valid.
4 September 2021On 5 September the Berliner Festspiele turn 70
The very first Berliner Festwochen kicked off on 5 September, 1951 at the Schiller Theater with Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and in the years that followed rapidly developed into the transdisciplinary, international arts platform that the Berliner Festspiele still are today. This anniversary is present in many ways in the programme of the Berliner Festspiele in the form of contributions, events, exhibitions, videos and concerts.
3 September 2021Musikfest Berlin 2021 starts and increases seating capacity
Due to rising demand, the Berliner Festspiele's Musikfest Berlin is increasing seating capacity in the Philharmonie for some concerts. This concerns at the moment the concerts of the Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam with Daniel Harding and Renée Fleming, the London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kožená, the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir with John Eliot Gardiner and Ann Hallenberg.
27 August 2021The Cool and the Cold. Painting in the USA and the USSR 1960–1990. Ludwig Collection
Painting in the USA and the USSR 1960–1990. Ludwig Collection, exhibited at the Gropius Bau in collaboration with the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation, is a substantial group exhibition bringing together art from the Cold War’s two duelling global powers, exploring the relationship between East and West from the perspective of art history.
25 August 2021The New Infinity 2021 – Program release
The fourth edition of "The New Infinity" transforms the Zeiss-Großplanetarium (Prenzlauer Allee 80, Berlin) into an immersive experience of contemporary art in the context of Berlin Art Week from September 17 through September 19. The program features fulldome films, among them world premieres of in-house productions, an audiovisual show, invited works and a retrospective of the films made in the past three years, fulldome adaptations of installations, games and VR experiences, the continuation of the Visual Music program initiated last year, and a cinematic line-up curated by the artist Agnieszka Polska. In addition, the opening of this year's Berlin Art Week will take place on September 14 at the Zeiss-Großplanetarium and will feature a selection of works from "The New Infinity" program.
20 August 2021The Sun Machine Is Coming Down
Art at the ICC: 7. – 17.10.2021
To mark their 70th anniversary, the Berliner Festspiele will take over the International Congress Centre Berlin (ICC) and open up the long disused building for Live art, installations and films.
Musikfest Berlin: Ticket presales started today
The Musikfest Berlin is organized by the Berliner Festspiele in cooperation with the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker from 28 August to 20 September in the Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus and the rbb broadcasting hall. More than 100 works, including nine world premieres, by over 50 composers and 17 compositions by Igor Stravinsky will be presented in the 34 concerts by international guest ensembles, the Berlin orchestras and choirs, and numerous soloists. In addition to the concert broadcasts on radio, selected events and other presentations will also be available digitally in the Digital Concert Hall of the Berliner Philharmoniker and on Berliner Festspiele on Demand.
Advance ticket sales for Musikfest Berlin began today, and accreditation is possible until 13 August.
Thea Djordjadze: all building as making
At the Gropius Bau, Thea Djordjadze to open an expansive solo exhibition exploring the mutability of space, memory and material
23 July 2021The New Infinity on show at the Zeiss-Großplanetarium
As part of Berlin Art Week, the fourth edition of “The New Infinity” will take place at the Zeiss -Großplanetarium from 17 to 19 September 2021, transforming the space into a gallery of the future. The planetarium is an immersive space for contemporary art with a large projection screen and 360-degree surround sound, making it a unique venue for the Berliner Festspiele's program series and the artists' commissioned works. The works presented this weekend (17.-19.9.2021) interweave audiovisual performances, Fulldome world premieres and adaptations of installations and classic avant-garde films for a dome format.
14 July 2021SERAFINE1369 and Ana Prvački are the Gropius Bau’s Artists in Residence 2021/22
The Gropius Bau is pleased to announce two Artists in Residence for 2021 working at the intersections of intuition, bodily knowledge and our experiences of site and history: SERAFINE1369 and Ana Prvački.
13 July 2021Tanztreffen der Jugend: Die Auswahl 2021
This press release is only available in German.
28 June 2021Thomas Oberender will leave Berliner Festspiele at the end of this year
Dr Thomas Oberender informed State Minister Prof Monika Grütters, chairwoman of the board of directors of Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH (KBB) that he has decided not to continue in his position of Managing Director of KBB and Director of Berliner Festspiele after the end of his current contract. He has therefore asked for his contract, which was extended by five years in November 2020, to be dissolved. After ten rewarding and successful years at Berliner Festspiele, Dr Oberender wishes to turn to new tasks and challenges.
17 June 2021Thomas Oberender will leave Berliner Festspiele at the end of this year
Dr Thomas Oberender informed State Minister Prof Monika Grütters, chairwoman of the board of directors of Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH (KBB) that he has decided not to continue in his position of Managing Director of KBB and Director of Berliner Festspiele after the end of his current contract. He has therefore asked for his contract, which was extended by five years in November 2020, to be dissolved. After ten rewarding and successful years at Berliner Festspiele, Dr Oberender wishes to turn to new tasks and challenges.
16 June 2021Musikfest Berlin 2021: The late works of Igor Stravinsky
About the joy of musical creation: The Musikfest Berlin of the Berliner Festspiele, in co-operation with the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, is staging a total of 34 events from 28 August to 20 September together with international guest ensembles and Berlin orchestras. The focus will be on the late works of Igor Stravinsky, combined with music by Carlo Gesualdo to contemporary works by Heiner Goebbels and Olga Neuwirth.
9 June 2021Zheng Bo: Wanwu Council 萬物社
“We cannot continue living in the fantasy that humans own this planet. How can art institutions move towards a more-than-human future?” – Zheng Bo, 2021
3 June 2021Takeover. Plastic Catches Mushroom
Kick-off for the project Takeover with Roberta Busechian and Tue Greenfort on the south terrace outside the Gropius Bau
27 May 2021Conclusion of the Digital Theatertreffen 2021
The digital festival edition of the 58th Theatertreffen of Berliner Festspiele ended on Monday, 24 May 2021 with a live stream of the production “SCORES THAT SHAPED OUR FRIENDSHIP” from Munich, a project by Lucy Wilke and Paweł Duduś featuring music by Kim Twiddle, as well as the Theatertreffen-jury’s final discussion and a song by Danger Dan. Over a period of 12 days, the festival presented a comprehensive programme of around 80 hours of events containing 56 streams on its new, experimental venue Berliner Festspiele Digital.
25 May 2021Stückemarkt of Theatertreffen: Commission of Work goes to the collective Ta-Nia, Talia Paulette Oliveras and Nia Farrell
Tonight, 23 May 2021, Stückemarkt of Theatertreffen awarded this year’s Stückemarkt’s Commission of Work, funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education/bpb, to the collective Ta-Nia, Talia Paulette Oliveras and Nia Farrell. The event was streamed live from Haus der Berliner Festspiele and Schauspiel Dortmund. The commission entails the realisation of a new work by Ta-Nia at Schauspiel Dortmund during the 2022/23 season.
23 May 2021Everything Is Just for a While. A new Look at 70 years of Festspiele-History
From 28 May to 17 October 2021, to mark the anniversary Berliner Festspiele 70, the exhibition “Everything is Just for a While” will present little known historic video documents from its own as well as public and private archives at Gropius Bau and invites visitors to take a new look at the history of the Berliner Festspiele and the artistic diversity of the programme of the last 70 years. Free tickets for time slots are available from 25 May. A press preview will take place on 27 May from 10:00 am.
21 May 2021On 13 May, Theatertreffen will Be Launched on Its New Digital Stage
From 13 to 24 May, the second entirely digital festival edition of Theatertreffen will present a comprehensive programme of 56 streams and a total of 80 hours of events, many of them live, on the new, experimental online stage of Berliner Festspiele. The platform will be activated on Thursday, 13 May at 12:00h.
12 May 2021Theatre-Award-Berlin goes to Sandra Hüller
Actor Sandra Hüller was already announced to be the winner of the Theatre-Award Berlin for her extraordinary services to the German-language theatre in 2020. The award ceremony had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic and will be hosted as part of the 58th Theatertreffen. There will be a live stream of the event at Haus der Berliner Festspiele on 16 May 2021 at 15:00h, to be accessed via the website of Berliner Festspiele.
3 May 2021Theatertreffen Presents the Digital Showcase “Stages Unboxed”
While last year the status quo of digital theatre arts was the topic of several panel talks, this year on 19 and 20 May the festival will present four pieces that have each found their own ways of illustrating the potential of online theatre. “Stages Unboxed” is the new digital showcase of Berliner Festspiele’s Theatertreffen and continues the festival’s cooperation with the Academy for Theatre and Digitality and the Digital Dramaturgy, launched in 2020.
27 April 2021Theatertreffen Announces its Programme Schedule
In the following, we would like to inform you about the programme of this year’s digital festival edition and to point out the varying times when the streams will be available. Some events will be streamed live and in real time and will no longer be available once the performances are over. Other streams will be accessible for 24 hours or longer after the end of the events.
The programme schedule is now online and will be continually updated on our website.
Series of Talks about the Situation of the Performing Arts in the Context of the Pandemic
For the first time, Theatertreffen and Performing Arts Festival Berlin will host a joint series of talks under the title of “What are we waiting for?”. Four online debates featuring artists, politicians and culture professionals including Nada Abdelwahab, Carsten Brosda, Margarita Tsomou, Franziska Werner and Torsten Wöhlert will focus on the conditions of artistic work since the beginning of the Corona pandemic and try to develop possible future prospects for the theatre sector.
16 April 2021Jazzfest Berlin has been granted Award for Adventurous Programming by Europe Jazz Network
The Europe Jazz Network (EJN) announced the Jazzfest Berlin as the winner of its 2021 Award for Adventurous Programming for the first time at a live online event on 14 April 2021. The ceremony was chaired by EJN President Wim Wabbes and involved statements from the jury, the Artistic Director of Jazzfest Berlin Nadin Deventer and some of the former festival artists. The Award, this year reaching its 10th edition, is bestowed each year by the Europe Jazz Network (EJN) to a European promoter who succeeds in creating visionary and fascinating musical programmes for the audience.
14 April 2021Berliner Festspiele | Theatertreffen 2021 | Pilot Project Forum Ecological Sustainability in the Theatre
During this year’s Theatertreffen and in cooperation with Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit in Kultur und Medien the pilot project Forum Ecological Sustainability in the Theatre will be hosted for the first time.
8 April 2021Berliner Festspiele | 58th Theatertreffen | 3sat-Award goes to actor Thiemo Strutzenberger and „Starke Stücke“ 2021
Actor Thiemo Strutzenberger will receive the 3sat-Award, which includes prize money of 10,000 Euros, for his performance in Stefan Bachmann’s production of “Graf Öderland”. This is the decision made by the award’s jury, whose members are Theatertreffen-director Yvonne Büdenhölzer, the author, critic, cultural journalist and member of the Theatertreffen-jury Andreas Klaeui and Wolfgang Horn, a member of the music and theatre editorial staff of ZDF (public German theatre broadcaster). In this co-production of Theater Basel and Residenztheater München, Thiemo Strutzenberger plays attorney general Martin who leads a bloody campaign against society’s status quo.
30 March 2021MaerzMusik 2021: First digital edition ends with a community project of solidarity
The digital edition of MaerzMusik – Festival for Time Issues 2021 was accessed about 29,000 times. The festival ended with the 27-hour closing event TIMEPIECE: to live time announcements in 22 languages by 93 international speakers from Berlin, 57 compositions produced for the project were heard. The revolving stage of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele was transformed into a gigantic clock, a kinetic stage composition.
29 March 202158th Theatertreffen from 13 to 24 May 2021
From 13 to 24 May 2021, the ten productions nominated by the Theatertreffen-jury will be presented as live streams from the producing theatres or as recordings in cooperation with our media partner 3sat, among others. The festival’s programme also includes the international Stückemarkt, featuring streams from the UK, Canada and Berlin, the International Forum in a new setting, a digital showcase as well as a focus on the legendary Living Theatre from New York. The programme can be experienced digitally; analogue events will be announced at short notice, subject to feasibility.
25 March 2021MaerzMusik 2021: TIMEPIECE Update and further premieres
MaerzMusik – Festival for Time Issues 2021 opened on 19 March and continues until 28 March. The 27-hour closing event TIMEPIECE will feature 57 musicians with compositions – new participants include Terre Thaemlitz, Ricardo Villalobos, Michael Gordon and Myriam Van Imschoot. More than 80 Berlin residents will announce the time in different languages. The collective project is an artistic expression of solidarity in Corona times. Other highlights and premieres at the festival include Ensemble Modern and George Lewis, Quatuor Bozzini, Ensemble Extrakte and Juliet Fraser.
24 March 2021MaerzMusik 2021: Digital edition starts
MaerzMusik – Festival for Time Issues 2021 starts on 19 March with the 360-degree "Environment" of music and film at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Over ten festival days, 22 projects, often spanning several hours, will be presented with numerous premieres. At the end, the new format TIMEPIECE brings more than 80 performers to the revolving stage of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The 27-hour living time announcement with over 50 commissioned compositions from around the world is an artistic project of solidarity in Corona times.
18 March 2021Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective – A Bouquet of Love I Saw in the Universe
Gropius Bau to open major Yayoi Kusama retrospective in April with her most complex immersive exhibition to date.
11 March 2021MaerzMusik 2021: Programme-Update
The updated programme of MaerzMusik – Festival for Time Issues 2021, including some new projects, has been published. The content of the digital festival edition can be accessed with a festival pass, which is available free of charge or with payment on a voluntary basis from 15 March. This also marks the start of the festival accreditation.
5 March 202158th Theatertreffen | The 10 Selected Productions
In a digital press conference, today, 9 February 2021, the Theatertreffen-jury presented their selection of ten remarkable productions from an extraordinary and challenging theatre year to be nominated for an invitation to the 58th Theatertreffen. In their selection of ten productions, the independent jury once again implemented a female quota of at least 50 percent in the directing position.
9 February 2021Theatertreffen | Invitation to the Theatertreffen’s Press Conference on Tuesday, 9 February 2021
Berliner Festspiele’s Theatertreffen invites you to a live stream of the festival’s press conference: The jury’s selection for the 58th Theatertreffen will be announced at 11.00h on Tuesday, 9 February 2021
3 February 2021Hella Jongerius: Woven Cosmos
Over three decades, the artist and industrial designer Hella Jongerius has engaged with urgent topics such as sustainable innovation, responsible production and societal regeneration. With the solo exhibition Woven Cosmos, the Gropius Bau presents to a broad public this unique and path-breaking figure from the realm of design and applied arts.
3 February 2021MaerzMusik 2021: We will be there
From 20 to 29 March 2020 the Berliner Festspiele will present “MaerzMusik – Festival for Issues”, which this year focuses on the beginning of time and will be present in different parts of the city.
28 January 2021Theatertreffen | Save the Date: The Jury's Selection on 9 February 2021
This year’s Theatertreffen of Berliner Festspiele is scheduled to take place from 7 to 23 May 2021 – in the great hope that we will be able to carry out an analogue as well as a digital festival programme.
21 January 2021Exhibition Programme 2021
We are pleased to announce the Gropius Bau’s exhibition programme for 2021. Key themes include probing, transgressing and dissolving boundaries, as well as rituals of healing and visions for new ways of living together.
3 December 2020Berliner Festspiele 70
Berliner Festspiele will turn 70 in 2021. To celebrate this occasion and in the hope of a positive development concerning the pandemic, Berliner Festspiele will launch their anniversary year at Gropius Bau with an interdisciplinary programme lasting several days and a “living archive” in March, and with international guest performances at the Festspielhaus featuring renowned artists as well as those as yet unknown in Germany. At the same time, Gropius Bau will hold the first comprehensive retrospective of the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The opera performance “Sun & Sea”, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennial, will be presented as part of the series Immersion in June.
30 November 2020