Berlin orchestra admits its Nazi past
The Berlin Philharmonic, widely considered the world's greatest orchestra, has finally opened up about its Nazi past after decades of silence.
The British-born conductor Simon Rattle has been at the forefront of the move, leading a concert featuring works banned as "degenerate" by Hitler. The concert, marking the orchestra's 125th anniversary, was applauded this week by a packed house in Berlin, where Sir Simon's predecessor, Wilhelm Furtwängler, led birthday concerts for the German leader 70 years ago.
It ended with an emotional rendition of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, a piece fiercely condemned by the Nazis.
An accompanying exhibition in the German capital recreates 1938 Nazi propaganda denouncing Stravinsky and others blacklisted for being Jewish or enemies of the regime.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The British-born conductor Simon Rattle has been at the forefront of the move, leading a concert featuring works banned as "degenerate" by Hitler. The concert, marking the orchestra's 125th anniversary, was applauded this week by a packed house in Berlin, where Sir Simon's predecessor, Wilhelm Furtwängler, led birthday concerts for the German leader 70 years ago.
It ended with an emotional rendition of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, a piece fiercely condemned by the Nazis.
An accompanying exhibition in the German capital recreates 1938 Nazi propaganda denouncing Stravinsky and others blacklisted for being Jewish or enemies of the regime.