The Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra which is considered the most prestigious symphony orchestra in the world, will celebrate its 140th anniversary on the stage of the architectural pearl of Ukraine: the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre.

For the Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra, their chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, all their musical guests and, above all, their public, there is reason to hope that the long-awaited normality will return to concert life in the 2021/22 season. 

A historic event for Ukraine on May 1, 2022 will be the European Birthday Concert of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a tradition founded in 1991 and in which the orchestra declares its position as cultural ambassador of the world for the values ​​of artistic and international association:

With our musical activity we want to emphasise the cultural features of the new reorganised Europe.

The Berliner Philharmoniker

With about 100 members under the direction of chief conductor and artistic director Kirill Petrenko, the orchestra will perform a special concert programme that will be broadcast live from the stage of the Odessa Opera Theatre not only by the First German State Television but also by international media partners around the world. The recording of the concert, which is watched by an audience of millions, will add to the unique digital media library of the Berlin Philharmonic.

In previous years, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra has visited the following countries with a European concert: Great Britain, Spain, France, Greece, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Portugal, Hungary and Austria.

The special educational mission of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is to initiate another project for talented young people after the European concert - with the participation of young musicians from Germany, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and the best students of Odessa specialised music institutions.

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra itself initiated its arrival in Odessa, the city where one of the most famous violin schools in the world was born under the direction of Peter Stolyarsky. The event will be organised by the NGO Odessa Development Institute in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Bank VOSTOK is the sponsor of Odessa Development Institute, a public institution founded by the banker and philanthropist Vadym Morokhovsky.

In terms of significance, this concert could be the event of the century for Ukraine, which will become a bright accent not only in historical and artistic terms, drawing attention of the whole world to Ukraine and Odessa, but will also creating chances for the development of diplomatic relations and cooperation at international level.

The tours of the Berliner Philharmoniker, planned for this season, begin at the end of August with the festival tour to Salzburg, Lucerne and Paris. All of them will be conducted by Kirill Petrenko. There will be a side trip to Frankfurt am Main in November, before the residency in Baden-Baden; further tour plans for November will be announced at a later date. In February 2022, two concerts are planned at the Vienna Musikverein and one concert each in Ljubljana and Zagreb. The Europakonzert in May takes the orchestra to Odessa again for the first time since 1904.