| “The
Philharmonisches Kammerorchester unites top instrumentalists
of the musical city of Berlin. These young musicians do not
only play excellently, they also show commitment.” (Berliner
Zeitung)
Founded in 2002 by Israeli conductor Michael Zukernik (emerging
from Ensemble Europa and the Camerata Berlin) the Verein
Berliner Kammerphilharmonie - later renamed in Philharmonisches
Kammerorchester Berlin – provides financial and administrative
support to the work of the orchestra.
With great commitment the mostly young musicians do not
only dedicate themselves to standard works of concert literature
but especially to the works of musical modernism: several
works by prominent contemporary composers (amongst them Olga
Rajewa and Wolfgang Rihm) were brought to first performance.
The Philharmonisches Kammerorchester Berlin (PKB) is strongly
concerned with the training of the artistic offspring: in
autumn 2003 the first “international master class for
orchestral conducting” held by the “Maestro of
Maestros” Prof. Jorma Panula (Royal College of Music,
Stockholm) turned out an overwhelming success. No less then
50 conductors of international origin were taking part. The
final concert in the Philharmonie Berlin inspired professionals
as well as the Berlin public.
The following master class took place in Wuppertal in 2004,
held by Prof. Leif Segerstam (chief conductor of the Helsinki
Philharmonic Orchestra and Prof. at the Sibelius Academy,
Helsinki). Further courses were held in 2005 by Otto-Werner
Mueller (Juilliard School, New York, Curtis Institute Philadelphia)
and by Colin Metters (Royal Academy of Music, London).
In March 2005 the first Nurnberg International Conducting
Competition was held by Prof. Jorma Panula in cooperation
with the Nürnberger Symphoniker.
We had courses with Janos Fürst, Kenneth Kiesler, Uros Lajovic, Gustav Meier, Colin Metters, Otto-Werner Mueller, Jorma Panula, Vladimir Ponkin, Rolf Reuter, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Leif Segerstam, some of the most successful teachers in the world.
In Octonber 2006, the next masterclass will be held by Professor Vladimir Ponkin (Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, Moscow).
Together with the Björn-Schulz-Stiftung, the Philharmonisches
Kammerorchester is supporting children and teenagers with
cancer. Shortly after its foundation the orchestra initiated
a beneficial concert in the Komische Oper Berlin. The concert
in the Französischer Dom in November 2003 in cooperation
with the Björn-Schulz-Stiftung and the Preußische
Gesellschaft was held as well for the benefit of children
with cancer.
In December 2005 another concert was organized for the benefit of this foundation:
The Berliner Oratorienchor and Berlin Sinfonietta performed Händel's "Messiah" in the Konzerthaus Berlin (Great hall) under the young Corean conductor Sung Jun Park.
The PKB organizes concerts in the most well-known concert halls in Germany such as the Philharmonie Berlin, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Beethovenhalle Bonn, the Robert-Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf, the Glocke in Bremen, the Beethovensaal Hannover, MUK Lübeck, and the Historische Stadthalle in Wuppertal etc.
The PKB continuously works with well-known artists such as Guy Braunstein (1st Concertmaster Berliner Philharmoniker), Victor Emanuel Montenton (piano), Kim Barbier (piano), Michael Sekler (violin), and Ramon Jaffé (violoncello).
Gábor Tarkövi (solo trumpet, Berliner Philharmoniker) appeared as soloist in the Weihnachtskonzert 2005 in the Philharmonie Berlin.
In the "News Year's Eve Concerts 2005" of the PKB at the Konzerthaus Berlin Michael Zukernik conducted works by Mozart, Bach and Koussevitzky. Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Nabil Shetata (double bass) and Wenzel Fuchs (clarinet), all three of them being soloists of the Berliner Philharmoniker, made these concerts a special highlight at the end of the year.
For Michael Zukernik the main purpose of his work is continuity as well as the constant extent of the orchestra's achievements.
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