Deutsche Bank give Berlin Phil an open cheque
mainThe bank has renewed its partnership with the orchestra, going back 30 years.
At the beginning, I seem to remember, the bank gave 30 million Deutschmarks to the orchestra.
Now, with the bank feeling less bullish, they have left the number off the press release.
Here’s what both sides are saying:
Deutsche Bank and the Berliner Philharmoniker will continue their successful cooperation. On Friday, at the opening ceremony of the orchestra’s season in Berlin, the two partners announced that their cooperation agreement will be extended for a further five years until 2025. The connection has existed since 1989, with this year marking the 30th anniversary.
Karl von Rohr, President of Deutsche Bank: “Our partnership with the Berliner Philharmoniker is unique in the world. No other company has promoted a top orchestra so exclusively over such a long period of time, on all continents. We are proud to continue this cooperation. It symbolizes what we want to achieve for our customers: to be a reliable and first-class partner, both in Germany and internationally.”
Andrea Zietzschmann, General Manager of the Berliner Philharmoniker: “I am delighted that the partnership between the Berliner Philharmoniker and Deutsche Bank has been extended parallel to our new Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko taking up his post. This will create a wonderful continuity enabling us to continue to launch new creative projects and to give broad sections of the population access to classical music. On behalf of the Berliner Philharmoniker, I would like to express my sincere thanks for 30 years of committed and trusting partnership and look forward to our future together.”
Kirill Petrenko, Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker: “The continuation of such a long-lasting partnership is a wonderful sign to all of us. I am looking forward to the many projects that Deutsche Bank’s support will continue to make possible.”
Throw some money my way while you’re at it!
given the current financial state of DB, if I were the BPO I would demand all the money up front and would immediately cash the check
In Germany, there is a well-founded apprehension toward private funding models. They see what this has produced in the USA and prefer to stick to their public funding system. As a result, Germany has about 130 orchestras and 83 opera houses, all full time, year-round, and owned and operated by the government. The USA with 4 times the population has 15 or 15 full time orchestras (let’s see what happens in Baltimore,) and only one full time opera house.
Ah, but the USA saved Europe FROM Germany in the 1940s. That takes GUTS. Do not under-rate the USA; I never do.
Er…that is a story only told in the USA. And at best is only partially true.
In any case, the present generation in the US and in Germany have nothing to do with the events 80 years ago.
DB money is inevitably public money, isn’t it?…
Berlin is almost practically an open red-light district, the heart of which then is the Philharmonie and the organization it directly represents, regardless that I just listened to a surprisingly good broadcast of the Schoenberg Violin Concerto paired with Tchaikovsky 5, oddly enough, conducted by their new man there. I had not heard such good work, for an entire broadcast, whether opera or concert, from Kirill Petrenko yet, and I’ve tried a pretty good number of times by now.