

Karajan Academy - Learn from the pros
Former students of the Karajan Academy can be found everywhere, whether in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Radio France, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Vienna and Munich Philharmonic orchestras – and of course the Berliner Philharmoniker. “Learn from the pros” is the motto of the Academy. Founded in the early 1970s by Herbert von Karajan and funded by private donors, highly talented young musicians are taught by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and are prepared for the life of professional orchestral musicians. A commitment that bears abundant fruit: today, around one-third of the members of the Berliner Philharmoniker are former students of the Academy.
YouTube channel of the Karajan Academy
Herbert von Karajan’s idea was appealing: With the Karajan Academy, an institution was created in which young, well-trained graduates can receive the best possible preparation for the profession of orchestral musician. Both in classes and working together with long-standing and experienced members of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the students learn the particular style and the sound ideal of the orchestra. More than just learn it, they internalize it. However, the training goes far beyond that: According to Peter Riegelbauer, double-bass player of the Berliner Philharmoniker and head of the Karajan Academy, the young instrumentalists get a sense of what it means to be a “complete musician”, who not only work intensively on their own development, but also learn to widen their experience and meet the world with a thirst for knowledge and open eyes.
You can gain an impression of the skills of the new generation of orchestra members in their concerts in the Chamber Music Hall of the Philharmonie. In addition to this concert series, the scholars of the Karajan Academy are also soloists in the monthly Carte-blanche series with free admission in the Chamber Music Hall.
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Upcoming academy concerts
04 Oct 2022,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
24 Oct 2022,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
05 Nov 2022,
19:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy | Series: KA – Karajan-Akademie
Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Sakari Oramo conductor
Sophie Pardatscher clarinet
Works by Jean Sibelius, Aaron Copland, György Ligeti and Alberto Ginastera
23 Nov 2022,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
11 Dec 2022,
20:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy | Series: KA – Karajan-Akademie
Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Christian Thielemann Dirigent
Camilla Nylund Sopran
Works by Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, John Adams and Franz Schreker
12 Jan 2023,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
29 Jan 2023,
20:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy | Series: KA – Karajan-Akademie
Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Christian Blex Dirigent
Camilla Tilling Sopran
Works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Ludvig Irgens-Jensen and Gustav Mahler
07 Feb 2023,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
12 Mar 2023,
20:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy | Series: KA – Karajan-Akademie
Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Ton Koopman Dirigent
Works by Johann Sebastian Bach
14 Mar 2023,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
15 May 2023,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy
Carte blanche
Stipendiat*innen der Karajan-Akademie der Berliner Philharmoniker
28 May 2023,
20:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy | Series: KA – Karajan-Akademie
Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Susanna Mälkki Dirigentin
Pierre-Laurent Aimard Klavier
Works by Igor Strawinsky, György Ligeti and Hovik Sardaryan
20 Jun 2023,
17:00
Kammermusiksaal
Karajan Academy