Past Event

Sat, January 13, 2024 at 7:00 PM

BOULEZ ENSEMBLE & THOMAS GUGGEIS

Viennese Schools: Beethoven, Schoenberg, Webern, Berg

© Stefan Maria Rother
Pierre Boulez Saal

Alban Berg wrote his Chamber Concerto in 1924 for the 50th birthday of his mentor Arnold Schoenberg. Unlike the ascetic minimalist Anton Webern, Berg overwhelms his listeners with a rich web of musical ideas, voices, and motives. Leading the Boulez Ensemble, Thomas Guggeis pairs the music of both Schoenberg students and their teacher with works for wind ensemble by Beethoven and Ligeti.

Artists

EVENT TIMELINE

Bar opens
18:00
Hall opens
18:30
Start
19:00
Intermission
End
20:45
Bar closes
21:45
Times are approximate.

The Emancipation of Dissonance A Conversation with Karim Said

You’ve performed quite a bit of music from the Second Viennese School. What draws you to this repertoire and how do you approach it?

Over the last few years I’ve recorded the complete atonal and twelve-tone solo piano works of the Second Viennese School—my upcoming release in May will conclude this project. Although all of these pieces would easily fit on a single CD, I decided to group them according to a specific theme for each album. On the first, I looked at the early works of Berg, Webern, and Schoenberg within the context of the collapsing Austro-Hungarian Empire in the years leading up to the First World War and paired them with Janáček, Bartók, and Enescu. The differences in style between these two groups of composers who emerged from close geographical proximity to each other I think is worth highlighting. On the second album I’m drawing a link between Schoenberg and William Byrd, as two figures who had a cult-like community of students around them, with Brahms forming a link as one of the first composers to look back at what we now call Early Music. And of course he was also one of Schoenberg’s main influences as a composer. My new album will combine Schoenberg’s Piano Pieces Opp. 19, 23, and 33 and the Webern Variations with Beethoven’s “Eroica” Variations and Mozart’s F-major Sonata K. 332—the link here obviously being Vienna.

I think music from the Second Viennese School should always be placed within a context or theme. These works lend themselves to be performed alongside a wide range of composers and music.

YOUR VISIT

How To Get There

Pierre Boulez Saal
Barenboim-Said Akademie
Französische Straße 33d
10117 Berlin

Google Maps

_____

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


More information on getting there by public transport, bike, or car is available on our Getting there page.

Opening Hours

Box Office

During the summer, the box office will be closed from June 30 to August 1 and from August 11 to September 5, 2025.  

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.

Yor Visit Accorden Image