BERLIN WITHOUT WALLS
A Station-Wide, Multi-Platform, Full Body Immersion into the Berlin Philharmonic and Its Extraordinary City
Friday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 14, 2007
WNYC salutes Berlin’s re-emergence with "Berlin Without Walls," an unprecedented 13-day multi-media festival celebrating the culture and music scene of this city. "Berlin Without Walls" complements Carnegie Hall's "Berlin in Lights," an ambitious international festival built around the Berlin Philharmonic's 17-day residency in New York, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting.
"Berlin Without Walls" is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This program is also supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Ich bin Berliner!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Why apartments in Berlin make moving back to New York next to impossible.
Ute Lemper
Friday, November 02, 2007
Before she kicks off Carnegie Hall's "Berlin in Lights" festival tonight at the Neue Gallerie, Ute Lemper joins us to talk about a program that includes the dark gems of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. And she gives us a sneak preview of her appearance all next week on WNYC's ...
Booming Berlin
Monday, November 05, 2007
In recent years, Berlin has become a destination for musicians thanks to its low cost of living, cheap rents, and creative atmosphere. Still, some critics wonder if the city has already peaked and the lifestyle that drew musicians here in the 1990s could soon be a thing of the past. ...
Contriva Live in Berlin
Monday, November 05, 2007
Since the mid '90s, the Berlin-based band Contriva has created music that combines elements of post-rock, acoustic folk and electronica. We join two members of the band, Masha Qrella and Rike Schuberty, in their home studio. They perform live, talk about writing lyrics in both English and German, and discuss ...
Immigrants, Music and the Airwaves
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Newcomers from Turkey and Eastern Europe are changing Berlin’s sound. We visit the studios of regional broadcaster RBB and its channel Radio Multikulti. RBB's Tobias Maier explains how the channel uses music as a bridge between Germans and the various immigrant communities.
Move Over Tango, Frevo Is Here
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Latin music is gaining steam in Berlin. The city is proud of its title as the tango capital of Europe, and various clubs have regular salsa and samba nights. Daniela Gerson reports on a lesser-known Brazilian rhythm: frevo.
DJ Ipek
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
We travel to the home studio of Ipek Ipekcioglu, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, a star DJ and a gay activist. She talks about the diverse social backgrounds among Germany's immigrant population -- a theme found on her new album "Import Export A La Turka, Turkish Sounds from Germany."
Max Raabe on Cabaret
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Max Raabe, considered the most popular cabaret-style singer and bandleader in Germany today, explains why modern-day Germans connect with a musical style that's rooted in the 1920's and includes songs from Kurt Weill to classic films. Recorded at the House of World Cultures
Music from Behind the Iron Curtain
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Kay Meseberg, a journalist, DJ and producer for Arte TV, the European arts television network, talks about the challenges of making - and listening to - music in the former East Germany. He also explains the curious modern-day phenomenon known as "Ostalgie" - looking back fondly to life under the ...
Klaus Hoffmann
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Born and raised in the former West Berlin, Klaus Hoffmann is a true Berlin original. An actor, author, and interpreter of chansons, he started out in the late '60s as a guitar-wielding folk singer. These days he sings everything from the songs of Jacques Brel to his own very personal ...
Hansa at the Wall
Friday, November 09, 2007
David Bowie, Iggy Pop, U2 and Depeche Mode among other artists have come to Hansa Studios in Berlin to record some of the greatest pop albums of the last century. Today, we speak with Eduard Meyer, the engineer who worked at Hansa Studios during its 70's and 80's heyday. We ...
17 Hippies Live
Friday, November 09, 2007
The 12-piece band 17 Hippies is one of Berlin's most unusual bands, making music that is a confection of various folk influences. They host us in their rehearsal space -- a former brewery turned artist studio complex -- for a conversation and live performance.
Web Only: The 17 ...
Web Only: The 17 ...
Weill and Brecht
Monday, November 05, 2007
Ute Lemper burst onto the international scene in the late 80's with her recordings of Kurt Weill's cabaret songs. The star chanteuse explores the short but intensely fruitful collaboration of Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht with original, historic recordings and modern renditions of some of their most powerful music.
Berlin Without Walls: The Players
Monday, November 05, 2007
The Berlin Philharmonic is made up of virtuoso players from around the world; in this segment of Berlin Without Walls, we hear from the instrumentalists themselves, as they describe their experiences from the initial audition to performing with one of the world's great orchestras.
Brecht without Weill
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Ute Lemper ransacked her personal collection to find material that illuminates one of the great literary geniuses of the 20th century. We not only hear the songs and poems of Berthold Brecht, but also rare audio clips of the poet himself in action.
Berlin Without Walls: The Sound
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
In describing the rich sonic color of the Berlin Philharmonic, conductor Simon Rattle says that it "comes from the center of the Earth." We deconstruct the orchestra section by section, and then put it all back together again to hear just how they make that incredible sound.
Brecht and the HUAC
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Listen to an excerpt of Berthold Brecht's testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1947. Like the famous "Hollywood Ten," Brecht was later charged with contempt of Congress — but managed to avoid a jail sentence since he had already fled the country.
Weimar Kabarett
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
This is the era that defines Berlin Cabaret: a brilliant flash of artistic adventurousness before the oppression of the Nazi regime. Ute Lemper presents the original stars of that era and plays recordings from leading modern interpreters of the repertoire.
Berlin Without Walls: The Homecoming
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
We view the Berlin Philharmonic within the context of Nazi Germany, through the story of Jewish violinist Hellmut Stern. Stern, who fled Germany at the start of the war, returned to his homeland afterwards to join the Philharmonic — under former Nazi party member Herbert von Karajan.
Contemporary Cabaret
Thursday, November 08, 2007
The daring spirit of the Weimar era was reborn in the 1970s and lives on in modern Berlin. From Lou Reed to Nina Hagen to Roger Waters, Ute Lemper presents latter-day keepers of the flame.
Berlin Without Walls: The Conductors
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Furtwängler; von Karajan; Celibidache; Abbado — and the list goes on. These are just some of the forceful personalities that have led the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra during its long and storied history. We examine how each maestro brought his own particular style to bear on the ensemble, and how the ...
Ute's International Cabaret Picks
Friday, November 09, 2007
The spirit of Berlin Cabaret can be heard in music from around the world. From the tango music of Argentina to the songs of Jacques Brel, Ute Lemper spins her favorite recordings from the global cabaret community.
Berlin Without Walls: Just Simon
Friday, November 09, 2007
To the world, he's known as Sir Simon Rattle. To the Berlin public, he's considered a real "Mench." If you ask the conductor himself, he'd prefer to be known as "just Simon." We go behind the scenes with the Berlin Philharmonic's music director, and hear from his friends and colleagues ...
Patrica Racette at Neue Gallerie
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Opera fans may know Patricia Racette as the star of the Met's recent "Madama Butterfly," but the acclaimed soprano shows off her more intimate talents for Carnegie Hall's Berlin in Lights Festival. In this concert broadcast by WNYC from Neue Galerie, Racette offers a cabaret program celebrating the ...
Sadiq in Berlin
Monday, November 12, 2007
"This could only happen in Berlin!"
Just like Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Gertrude Stein holed up in postwar Paris, Berlin has become the place to be for creative internationals in the years since the Wall fell. Sadiq Bey is a poet and musician from Detroit who moved to Berlin when ...
Sadiq at the Yellow Lounge
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
"Jesus Christ! Look at this line!"
Poet and musician Sadiq Bey visits Yellow Lounge, a classical music/DJ club where pianist Hélène Grimaud shares the stage with DJ Canisius. 600 people rock out as Grimaud plays the Beethoven Sonata, Op. 109. Twice. And Canisius spins.
The Berlin Philharmonic Live at Carnegie Hall
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sir Simon Rattle leads the Berlin Philharmonic in this live concert broadcast from Carnegie Hall, featuring music with global themes. We hear the United States Premiere of Thomas Adés' orchestral tone poem "Tevot," which explores the idea of the Earth as a "Noah's Ark" for humanity as it spins through ...
Ear to Ear: Theo Bleckmann
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Nomad SoundSystem at the Berlin in Lights Festival
Monday, November 05, 2007
Nomad SoundSystem describes its music as sitting on "the cutting edge between electronic dance grooves and passionate Arabic live music." Leonard talks to ensemble members DJ Shazam and Tomoki Ikeda about their sound just before they take the stage at the Berlin in Lights festival.
Berlin Philharmonic in Lights
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Berlin Philharmonic is now at Carnegie Hall as part of the Berlin in Lights festival, which celebrates the city as one of the world’s centers of artistic expression and forward thinking. Leonard talks to Pamela Rosenberg, general director ...
Soundcheck on Site: Berlin
Monday, October 15, 2007
During the week of November 5-9 Soundcheck turns its focus to Berlin. Host John Schaefer and members of the Soundcheck staff travel to the city to speak with musicians, journalists, producers, and other industry figures to find out what’s new and unique in that city’s pop, rock, and electronic music ...
Berlin Philharmoniker Visits New York
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Reporter Veralyn Williams spent the last 3 weeks following a group of high school students as they prepare to perform this weekend with members of the Berlin Philharmoniker.
Achtung New York!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
New York, NY —
For the past week WNYC's Evening Music has featured special programming highlighting the musical and cultural life of Berlin. WNYC decided to explore why Berlin is such a thriving arts capital, and whether New York could learn anything from the city. We spoke with a ...
