Is my instrument in demand?
- Admission to the Karajan-Akademie usually takes place on September 1st, if necessary also during the concert season.
- The duration of training is two years, the first six months being a probationary period. The training ends early if a permanent position in an orchestra is taken up.
- Scholarship holders receive a monthly stipend of 1,100 euros.
- Scholarship holders are responsible for their own health insurance.
Are you interested in a scholarship?
Apply
The vacant positions listed below are available. The complete application documents must be submitted by the application deadline. Invitations or rejections will only be sent after this deadline. The specified works and orchestral parts must be fully prepared for the audition.
As soon as an audition date has been set, it will be published immediately on this page.
Requirements
- Completed university studies (at least Bachelor)
- Applicants under the age of 21 are asked to submit a letter of recommendation from their teacher or a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker stating that they are already in the final phase of professional preparation.
- In the case of admission to the Karajan-Akademie, continuous attendance in Berlin is required.
Application documents
- Copy of university transcript or certificate of enrolment
- Complete curriculum vitae
Vacancies
Audition: February 10, 2026
Compulsory pieces:
Georg Friedrich Händel: Concerto in B flat major (any version; without repetitions and without cadence)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Sonata in G major (without repetitions)
Louis Spohr: Phantasie
Gabriel Fauré: Impromptu
Claude Debussy: Danse sacrée et danse profane
Paul Hindemith: Sonata
Pieces of choice:
One piece of choice
Application deadline: January 4, 2026
All applications must be submitted via the online portal Muvac
Audition: February 9, 2026
Pieces of choice:
One classical concert of choice (first and second movement), as well as a piece of choice from a different epoch
Application deadline: December 31, 2025
All applications must be submitted via the online portal Muvac
Audition: January 20, 2026
Compulsory pieces:
Snare drum:
Knauer: Etude in 6/8
Wagner: No. 64/71/74
Ravel: Bolero
Rimskij-Korsakow: Scheherazade
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf
Xylophone:
Oswaldo Lacerda from Suite for Xylophone and Piano: „Arrasta-pé“
Dmitri Schostakowitsch: „The Bolt“
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Glockenspiel:
Paul Dukas: The Sorcerers’s Apprentice
Alecander Glasunow: Violin Concerto
Tambourine:
Tambour-Ille
Timpani:
Prof. Franz Krüger: Etude No. 45
Application deadline: December 7, 2025
All applications must be submitted via the online portal Muvac
Audition: February 16, 2026
Compulsory pieces:
W. A. Mozart: Concerto in C major, K. 314
Strauss: Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra in D major, AV 144
Application deadline: January 4, 2025
All applications must be submitted via the online portal Muvac
Audition: January 16, 2026
Pieces of choice:
A Mozart concert of your choice
Another concert or solo piece from another epoch of your choice
Application deadline: December 7, 2025
All applications must be submitted via the online portal Muvac
Any questions?
Answers to the most important questions about the application and the audition
All free spots in the Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker are announced on our website. If an instrument is not mentioned, there is currently no vacancy for it.
Applications will be accepted until the specified deadline, the exact date is indicated under “Vacancies”. Later applications can only be processed if there is an opening left to be filled.
You may apply to the Karajan-Akademie in German or English. German is generally spoken in the orchestra.
After the application deadline, the candidates for the audition will be selected by the Berliner Philharmoniker. Invitations or rejections are usually sent via Muvac 14 days after the application deadline. Enquiries before the application deadline cannot be processed. Invited applicants must confirm their participation to the Karajan-Akademie at least one week before the audition.
It will not be possible to arrange an alternative date for individual candidates.
Set pieces: The works and orchestral passages listed in the announcement and invitation must be prepared in full.
Optional pieces: The Karajan-Akademie must be notified of the optional pieces up to one week before the audition.
All auditions are accompanied by a répétiteur engaged by the Karajan-Akadmie. If you would prefer to bring along your own accompanist, please let the Karajan-Akademie know this in advance.
The piano is tuned to 443 Hz.
The audition is held on the player’s own instrument. Exceptions are harp, timpani and percussion.
Music for the set pieces is available to the piano accompanist. Please bring music for the pieces of your choice in internationally familiar, standard editions.
The possibilities for warming up in the Philharmonie are limited. Break-out (group) rooms will be made available no later than an hour before the audition begins. Room allocation is handled by the porter. The auditoriums are available only during the actual audition.
The Karajan-Akademie auditions are usually divided into at least two rounds. In the first round, parts of the compulsory piece are performed. After a discussion with the jury, the participants in the second round are announced.
Audio-visual recordings may not be substituted for participation in the audition.
With the exception of piano accompaniment, it is not permitted to invite guests to the auditions.