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Cultural Metropolis Berlin

19.06.2007

Tradition and Trends

As early as the 1920s, Berlin was referred to in publications and posters from the Tourist Office as a ”city of music and theaters”. At that time, art and culture characterized the aura of the city on the Spree. The fact that culture and entertainment were regarded as early as the Roaring Twenties as being one of the main reasons for visiting Berlin – and were actively marketed – had to do with the breadth and variety of the cultural scene that was extraordinary at that time for an up-and-coming metropolis. A line-up that has shaped the myth of Berlin up to the present day and is the essence of its magical attraction.

Berlin’s theaters are closely linked with a string of famous names, such as Bertolt Brecht, Max Reinhardt, Kurt Weill, Erwin Piscator, Therese Giehse, and Gustaf Gründgens. Cinema in Berlin was still in its infancy as a medium, but with the founding of the UFA film company, it produced a series of illustrious stars such as Marlene Dietrich, Ernst Lubitsch, Emil Jannings, Heinrich George, and others. Alfred Döblin and his novel “Berlin Alexanderplatz”, which was published in 1929, have had a lasting influence on Berlin’s image in the realm of literature.

This bustling and creative metropolis had a tremendous attraction for artists of all types during the era. Its aura regularly attracted visitors from near and far. Berlin was Europe’s melting pot after the First World War. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants arrived in the city and brought along their artistic ideas. Dadaism came to life here, as did the socially critical new functionalism with works by artists such as Georg Grosz and Otto Dix and the group of artists calling itself “Die Brücke” (“The Bridge”) with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde, and others. Another great name associated with Berlin at this time was that of Max Liebermann, who helped bring German Impressionism to life.

A special feature of Berlin in the 1920s was the glitter and glamour offered by the world of light entertainment – the atmosphere and seamy appeal of the notorious Kit Cat Club, which characterized the Berlin of the 1930s in the film version of the musical Cabaret with Liza Minelli, as well as the famed Haller revues in the Admiralspalast with the Tiller Girls and the breakneck acrobatics performed in the legendary old Berlin Wintergarten.

The situation after the fall of the Berlin Wall initially had a great deal in common with that of the Berlin of the Roaring Twenties. A similar euphoric mood prevailed. The fusion of different cultural landscapes set plenty of creativity free, but it also released potential for conflict. Today, Berlin is again one of the most important cultural centers in Europe, if not the European cultural metropolis. The numbers alone are remarkable: 3 opera houses, more than 130 theaters and stages, over 175 museums and collections, approximately 300 galleries, more than 250 public libraries, 130 cinemas, and countless other cultural institutions. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that visitors to the city can expect up to 1,500 different events per day to choose from. There is a unique spectrum on offer ranging from classical high culture to a very lively alternative scene. Berlin’s cultural budget of nearly €500 million makes it one of the frontrunners in the entire world.

The musical life of the city is guided not just by the eight large symphony orchestras – including the renowned Berlin Philharmonic – but also by a varied operatic scene which, with three major opera houses, is unique in the world. Day in, day out, a repertoire of several classical operas is performed at the highest level. It is therefore hardly surprising that the three Berlin opera houses have adopted the slogan “772 opera performances in a year – where else would you find that?” The extraordinary quality of the cultural life in Berlin is exemplified by the Berlin Philharmonic, a world-famous orchestra associated with such names as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Sergiu Celibidache, and Herbert von Karajan. And substantial contributions are also made to Berlin’s world-renowned reputation as a cultural metropolis by the great opera houses and traditional stages such as the Deutsches Theater, the Schaubühne on Lehniner Platz, and the Berliner Ensemble, where Bertolt Brecht used to stage his plays and whose director is now Claus Peymann. Names such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Eliahu Inbal, Kent Nagano, Götz Friedrich, Thomas Langhoff, and Udo Zimmermann speak for themselves. The appointments of Sir Simon Rattle as the successor to Claudio Abbado and Ingo Metzmacher as the designated principal conductor of the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester mark the arrival of a younger generation in Berlin’s high culture who are also coming to the fore in the city’s theaters. A young leadership team involving choreographer Sasha Waltz and director Thomas Ostermeier provided new energy to the Berlin stage that is already rich in tradition. Today, Sasha Waltz has realized her own project: Radialsystem V is an innovative project spreading across genres that combines the traditional and the modern, established music and contemporary dance. It has found an attractive location right on the Spree River in the former pumping station on Holzmarktstraße.

As the city with the most theaters and orchestras in Germany, Berlin can offer culture buffs the entire spectrum of drama ranging from light theater to classical opera. Musical theaters, variety shows such as the “Wintergarten” or the “Chamäleon”, and numerous cabaret theaters provide entertainment in all of its variations. “Dedicated to amaze”, the motto of the “Wintergarten” variety theater, could easily hold true for Berlin’s entire nightlife. Dance, satirical songs, and risqué jokes are just as much a feature of performances at the Friedrichstadtpalast, Europe’s largest revue theater, as are artistic acts and amazing stage sets. A trend is clearly recognizable here. The successful renaissance of light entertainment in Berlin harks back to the great traditions of the Roaring Twenties. The huge success of the musical “Cabaret” in the nostalgic Spiegelzelt (mirrored tent) of the “Bar jeder Vernunft” clearly demonstrates just how well traditional Berlin entertainment and modern entertainment go together. And the grand-scale musical has also gained a foothold in Berlin at the splendid classical building of the Theater des Westens: after Les Misérables and The Three Musketeers, Tanz der Vampire, Oscar-winner Roman Polanski’s musical parody of the horror genre, had its premiere on December 10, 2006. In August 2006, the nightlife and nightclub locations in Berlin were further enhanced by a new yet old institution: one of the most popular entertainment addresses in Berlin in the 1920s and 1930s has reopened and is presenting a diverse offering and colorful program that is sure to appeal to even spoiled night owls and entertainment enthusiasts in the city. The “Admiralspalast” on Friedrichstraße contributed to the myth of the “Roaring Twenties” with ice shows, variety acts, and show theater and, until recently, led something of a shadowy existence before coming back to life. And in 2006, one of the most successful productions in Berlin, Blue Man Group, was able to greet its one millionth visitor in the Theater am Potsdamer Platz. That was reason enough for the blue men to set up their own auditorium: starting in February 2007, they moved into the former IMAX cinema, also on the Marlene Dietrich Platz. which will be renamed the “Bluemax”. And the Theater am Potsdamer Platz will play host to the popular musical Beauty and the Beast in early March.

From satirical songs and jazz concerts in TIPI to political satire in the Distel and Wühlmäuse am Theo, from the Theater am Potsdamer Platz where the Blue Man Group from America presents a mixture of comedy, acrobatics, color, percussion ,and music, to the successful Las Vegas live show “Stars in Concert”, now in its eighth season, at the Estrel Festival Center to the “Ladies Gentlemen Trash Pilots” in the Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), the former border crossing under historical preservation: Berlin offers an incredibly diverse spectrum of fantastic entertainment.

Berlin is the city of museums. Last year its array of museums and exhibitions attracted over eleven million visitors. The city’s museums house treasures of world culture such as the Pergamon Altar, Nefertiti – the most beautiful woman in Berlin, old and new masters from Giotto to Carevaggio, from Breughel to Caspar David Friedrich, from Joseph Beuys to “young wildmen” like Baselitz or Haring to contemporary art such as the Flick Collection in the Hamburger Bahnhof. The museums also illustrate the turbulent history of a divided city, from the glory of old Prussia to the “Raisin Bomber”, the supply plane used during the Berlin airlift. More than 175 Berlin museums constitute the city’s memory: they preserve history, art, and knowledge and create a museum landscape that is unique in the world. And this landscape is developing at breathtaking speed.

Two new museum openings, “Picasso and His Age” in the Stüler Building in Charlottenburg and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in the Hamburger Bahnhof scored six years after the Reunification of Germany international successes for Berlin as a cultural metropolis. June 1998 saw the opening of the highly praised new building of the Portrait Gallery at the Kulturforum Tiergarten, one of the most important and largest museums. The new Film Museum on Potsdamer Platz which opened in September 2000 rapidly became a crowd puller. This is where the estate of Marlene Dietrich is being exhibited for the first time in a permanent exhibition.

Although the spectacular opening of the Jewish Museum in September 2001 attracted worldwide attention, December 2001 marked the Berlin museum landscape getting back another, equally bright jewel in its crown: the Alte Nationalgalerie on Museum Island. The imposing building, restored to its former architectural glory, is the showpiece of the ensemble on Berlin's Museum Island. And by October 2006, another of the five buildings had already reopened on Museum Island after a costly renovation: the Bode Museum with the Sculpture Collection and the Collection of Byzantine Art. The dazzling reopening turned into a public success of unexpected proportions. According to the master plan, the other buildings on Museum Island will be gradually restored over the next few years. A spacious central entrance area with a glass roof and an underground connecting passageway will be added. Then this museum ensemble will radiate with a new shine. Unique throughout the entire world, a temple of the arts in the heart of Berlin, it was also named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It will present a cultural and historical panorama from Ancient Egypt to the end of the nineteenth century. With more than €1.5 billion invested, Berlin's Museum Island is Europe’s largest cultural investment project.

In 2003, the new extension to the Berlin Zeughaus (armory) opened at the Deutsches Historisches Museum. This elegant building was designed by the renowned architect, I. M. Pei. His design forges a spectacular link between Baroque and modern architecture of the twentieth century. It reopened in June 2006 after its complete restoration. The collections of the Deutsches Historisches Museum are now once again be permanently accessible to the public at large. The Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology) also reopened at the end of 2003, and in 2005 new, spacious extensions were added to house large shipping and aerospace exhibits.

The year 2004 was an extremely good one for the Berlin museum landscape. A total of four new museums opened their doors: Schloss Köpenick with classical decorative arts and the collection of the arts and crafts museum; the Museum of Photography with the Helmut Newton Collection; the Flick Collection in the Rieck-Hallen at Hamburger Bahnhof with contemporary art, and the Berlinische Galerie with its unique collection of Berlin art dating from 1870 to the present day: the “old” secessionists, Dada and Fluxus, the expressionists and the proponents of New Objectivity, Russians in Berlin, the avant-garde in architecture and photography, East Berlin and West Berlin. Berlin unified, and on and on.

In Charlottenburg, too, the museum landscape is on the move: the Scharf collection with first-class Surrealist works is scheduled to be housed in the Stülerbau at Schloss Charlottenburg beginning in 2007. This used to be the home of the Egyptian Museum. Nefertiti and the Egyptian Museum’s collection have already moved to Museum Island, but not to their final destination in the Neues Museum where the collection had been on display before the war. They are temporarily on display on the first floor of the Altes Museum. Work on the Neues Museum is scheduled for completion in 2009. That is when Nefertiti and the Egyptian Collection will move into their new home, along with the Museum of Prehistory and Early History.

In the direct vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s newest museum opened its doors on November 11, 2006. The Berlin Kennedy Museum shows the family’s history from their emigration from Ireland through their ascent to the myths woven around the American dynasty. The collection encompasses personal and accompanying objects that were once in the possession of the Kennedy family, famous photographs, important documents, books, and films.

With new museum buildings, the city will have even more attractions in the future. There are plans to build a new Anselm Kiefer Museum near the Kurfürstendamm. The building contractor Hans Grothe will erect a new building next to the Hotel Concorde which opened in November. The 1,400 square meter exhibition space will be devoted to around fifty works of the German painter and sculptor who lives in France and is deemed to be one of the most important representatives of New Symbolism.

Some three hundred galleries make Berlin a center of the international art scene and art market. The significance of Berlin’s art market can be seen in the success of the recent international arts tradeshow, the “art forum berlin”. Staged for the eleventh time in the autumn, it has every prospect of surpassing the arts fair in Cologne. More than six thousand artists and creative spirits make Berlin a center for inspiration right in the heart of Europe. The degree to which Berlin’s creativity is also perceived internationally is demonstrated by the designation conferred upon it by UNESCO in 2006 as a “City of Design”. This award acknowledges the achievements of designers, fashion creators, photographers, architects, and artists. Incidentally, they have recently set up their own network with the label “Create Berlin!” – a young creative scene in dialog with a cultural tradition that is unique throughout Europe.

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