Thu, November 20, 2025 at 7:30 PM
BEN GOLDSCHEIDER & PHILIP DAWSON
Works for Horn and Live Electronics
Pierre Boulez Saal
Works for horn and live electronics used to be few and far between. Inspired by Canadian-German sound artist Hildegard Westerkamp, Ben Goldscheider set out to change this: the British hornist (and Barenboim-Said Akademie alumnus) joined forces with electronic musician Philip Dawson to expand the possibilities of his instrument. In newly commissioned works by composers Thea Musgrave, Alex Grove, Mark Simpson, and Zoë Martlew, the horn’s familiar sound takes on entirely novel and unfamiliar dimensions.
Artists
French Horn
Live Electronics
Program
EVENT TIMELINE
Explore the individual works
Zoë Martlew
Nibiru for Horn and Live Electronics
The concert begins with the end of the world. Sirens, explosions, Armageddon—and a single survivor: the horn player. All we are left with is his breath, floating through empty space, until we find another trace of life, point zero for a new beginning. Martlew’s Nibiru becomes a theatrical vision of destruction and renewal.
Alex Groves
Single Form (Dawn) for Horn and Live Electronics
What is a horn, really, other than a bunch of resonating metal tubes tied together? Alex Groves’s piece takes one of them and stretches its possibilities to the limit: Over ten minutes, sustained notes build and loop into a shimmering web of harmonics—a hypnotic study in resonance that grows denser and more electric with every breath.
Thea Musgrave
The Golden Echo III for Horn and Tape
At 95, British composer Thea Musgrave remains endlessly inventive. In her composition, Ben Goldscheider becomes a one-man horn ensemble: 16 recorded layers surround him while he is playing a single voice live. The result is both powerful and intimate—a dialogue of echoes and memories shaped by the horn’s unmistakable sound.
Hildegard Westerkamp
Fantasie for Horns II
Car horns, boat horns, hunting horns—implementing all sorts of horns from everyday life, Westerkamp’s work reconnects the modern instrument with its much more functional origins. A call across open spaces, both earthy and ethereal, her piece blurs the lines between art and nature.
Mark Simpson
Darkness Moves II for Horn und Live Electronics
A hallucinatory finale: inspired by Henri Michaux’s mescaline-fueled poetry, Simpson’s piece unfolds in loops, echoes, and distortions. Horn and electronics merge in real time to create a kaleidoscopic sound world where pitch and pulse dissolve—virtuosic, surreal, and electrifying.
YOUR VISIT
How To Get There
Pierre Boulez Saal
Barenboim-Said Akademie
Französische Straße 33d
10117 Berlin
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Public Transport
U-Bahn U2 Hausvogteiplatz, U5 Museumsinsel, U6 Unter den Linden
S-Bahn S / U Friedrichstraße
Tram M1, 12 Mitte / Am Kupfergraben
Bus 147 Werderscher Markt; 100, 300, N5 Staatsoper
Bicycle
Bicycle racks are available on the street “Hinter der Katholischen Kirche.”
Car
Q-PARK parking garage Unter den Linden / Staatsoper
Bebelplatz 2
10117 Berlin
Theater rate (5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, paid in advance): €10
Please note there is a construction site across from the hall on Französische Straße. The street is narrowed, and cars or taxis are not allowed to stop in front of the Pierre Boulez Saal entrance.
Opening Hours
Box Office
Monday to Friday 2 pm to 6 pm
Closed on weekends and holidays
On performance days, the box office opens one hour prior to an event on weekdays and two hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
Papagena Call Center
Ticket hotline +49 30 4799 7411
Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm
Sunday and public holidays 2pm to 8pm
Food & Drinks
Casalot Catering welcomes Pierre Boulez Saal visitors before and after concerts, serving a variety of dishes of Arab cuisine.
On concert nights, the bar opens one hour before the start of an event and remains open after the performance. You may also place pre-orders for intermission right at the counter.
More informantion on our catering can be found here.
Coat Check
Small bags up to a maximum size of A4 (21x30 cm) and jackets may be taken into the concert hall. Luggage, helmets, large umbrellas, and other bulky items must be stored at the coat check.
The coat check is free and located behind the staircase in the foyer, on the left-hand side.
Accessibility
To book wheelchair-accessible seating, other seats for visitors with disabilities, or companion seats, please contact us directly.
+49 30 4799 7411
tickets@boulezsaal.de
All wheelchair seats are accessible by elevator. All visitors, including patrons using a wheelchair, will enter the Pierre Boulez Saal through the main entrance. Tickets will be checked at the hall doors.
In order to make access as easy as possible, we kindly ask that you inform us of your requirements when booking your tickets.
Restrooms for visitors with disabilities are located in the basement and on the balcony level and are accessible by elevator.
Four parking spaces for visitors with disabilities are available on the street Hinter der Katholischen Kirche.
