At the beginning of the 2019/2020 concert season, there were several reasons to celebrate: the inauguration of the new chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 30-year partnership between the Berliner Philharmoniker and Deutsche Bank. “We are delighted to have had Deutsche Bank continuously at our side us for so many years,” said Andrea Zietzschmann, general manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker. “This trusted partnership goes far beyond sponsoring and is characterised by a joint desire to open classical music up to new audiences. In this spirit, pioneering projects such as our education programme and the Digital Concert Hall were created, which would not have been possible without Deutsche Bank. We are very grateful for this support.”
The power of music to connect
In 1989, Deutsche Bank and the Berliner Philharmoniker signed their first cooperation agreement. From that day onwards, their common goals have been to give as many people as possible access to music, to inspire enthusiasm, to discover and foster creative talent and to facilitate technical innovations. “In this 30-year partnership, we have seen time and again how music bridges gaps to overcome cultural, linguistic and social barriers,” said Christian Sewing, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Bank AG. “There is no comparable cooperation between an orchestra and a private company worldwide. High standards combined with the power of innovation, curiosity, vibrancy and openness characterise our cooperation. We share a passion for what we do – in our home country as well as in the many activities around the globe.”
Award winning engagement
The most important innovation was the founding of the education programme in 2002, with which the Berliner Philharmoniker and Deutsche Bank want to inspire an interest in classical music in people from all walks of life and different cultures. A variety of education projects allow the participants to discover their own creative potential. The multi award-winning film Rhythm Is It!, which documents the rehearsal work of the first dance project, shows how the captivating power of music can motivate, move and delight young people. Deutsche Bank received several awards for its engagement. The Berliner Philharmoniker were also honoured for their education programme by being the first institution to become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Trailer: Rhythm is it!
An innovative project
In 2006, the orchestra itself had a vision to broadcast concerts by the Philharmoniker live on the Internet. Thanks to Deutsche Bank, which provided start-up financing, the idea became reality within just a few years: Simon Rattle, then head of the Philharmoniker, praised its role, saying “Once again, Deutsche Bank is helping to propel us to the future”. Since 2009, music fans from around the world can experience virtually all of the orchestra’s concerts live on television, computer, tablet or smartphone in brilliant sound and image quality.
Self-confidence and team spirit
In 2014, when the partnership between Deutsche Bank and the Berliner Philharmoniker celebrated its 25th anniversary, the “vocal heroes”, the singers of the new choral project which the Berliner Philharmoniker’s education programme initiated with the support of Deutsche Bank, gave their first public performance. Singing in a choir allows children to experience the joy of making music together, they gain them self-confidence, the ability to overcome limitations, and to form bonds with others through music. The choirs in the Moabit, Hellersdorf and Schöneberg districts of the city which are supervised by the education programme also make it easy for disadvantaged children and young people to join the “vocal heroes”. With their concerts and an annual large choir project, the “vocal heroes” are now an integral part of the Philharmoniker’s concert calendar.