Three years after the successful previous edition, Cimarosa is once again offering a musical journey to Berlin. Three evening concerts at the prestigious Musikfest Berlin, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2026 and annually launches the Berlin concert season in spectacular fashion.
Three nights in a row we head to the legendary Philharmonie Berlin, the beating heart of Berlin's musical scene. The hall designed by Hans Scharoun, with its revolutionary vineyard model and world-renowned acoustics, provides the perfect setting for this rich program.
The Concerts
Opening night features one of the key works from twentieth-century opera history: Le Grand Macabre by György Ligeti, based on the surrealist drama by Brussels author Michel de Ghelderode. In the fictional Breughelland, inspired by Bruegel and Bosch, an grotesque blend of medieval mystery play, absurd slapstick and dark humor unfolds. Coloratura arias, rhythmically complex ensembles and cabaret-style scenes alternate with one another. The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Chamber Choir and an international soloists ensemble under the direction of Nicholas Collon perform Ligeti's "anti-anti-opera" in a semi-staged production.
The second concert is entirely dedicated to Felix Manddelssohn Bartholdy. Jordi Savall leads his ensemble The Concert of Nations through three captivating musical travel sketches: the Scottish Symphony, the Italian Symphony and the overture The Hebrides. A rediscovery on historical instruments, in a fresh and sparkling interpretation.
The closing concert combines romanticism and modernity. Two impressive works by Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth — Tombeau I and Dreydl — in which memory and transience take center stage, are interspersed with late Romantic masterworks: Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with star violinist Blake Pouliot, and Rachmaninoff's moving Symphony No. 3. The excellent Kansas City Symphony is conducted by Matthias Pintscher.
The daytime program
The journey also has much to offer during the day. We stay at the four-star hotel NH Collection Berlin Mitte at Checkpoint Charlie, in the heart of the city. Highlights include visits to the magnificent Charlottenburg Palace, the Neues Museum on Museum Island, the iconic Neue Nationalgalerie by Mies van der Rohe, the Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind and Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. We stroll along Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate, and conclude at the Berlin Wall Memorial and Checkpoint Charlie. A gastronomic lunch in the transparent Reichstag dome by Sir Norman Foster, with breathtaking views over Berlin, forms an unforgettable highlight.
The tour is led by Stephan Weytjands and Myriam Libert.
The option on concert tickets expires mid-June — so don't delay signing up! Cimarosa
