Taking Classical Music outside the Concert Hall (2)

The building opposite the Schlossplatz in which you find one of Berlin's premier music conservatories, the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, once housed the royal stables. The exterior is neo-baroque, the interior sleekly modern. In the Galakutschensaal (literally, the carriage hall) you can hear wonderful music for free.

The conservatory has a rich program of events all through the year: concerts, master classes, lecture concerts, workshops, international music contests -- and the standard is always high.  There is a closer, more intimate relationship between the performers and audience than in the concert hall. I like sneaking in well before the concerts or master classes begin. The spacious quietness in the room -- soaring ceilings, parquet floors, two black Bösendorfer grand pianos. tall windows letting in a view of the Dom, the Spree and the green quadrant of the Schlossplatz -- is a first intimation of the purity of sound that will follow.

You can check Hanns Eisler's concert schedule here. The Hanns Eisler and the Universität der Künste have teamed up to form the Jazz-Institut Berlin on the Einsteinufer, and some great free concerts are on offer at this location, too. The Jazz-Institut's program is available here.

An unusual series outside the concert hall takes place in the Bröhan-Museum in Charlottenburg. In Berlin's museum for Art Nouveau decorative arts, music students give concerts on the first Thursday of every month. In their interaction with the audience, musicians make imaginative connections between the 30-minute program and a selected museum piece. The next concert is on Thursday, July 7, at 14:00. Tickets (which includes entrance to the museum) are 4 EUR.

My last tip for this post is the "Jour Fixe" free concert series at the Musikinstrumenten Museum (or the MIM) every other Wednesday afternoon. Once again, the performers are from Berlin's music conservatories. Originally, the program was reserved exclusively for the piano; now it includes a broad spectrum of solo and chamber music.

The concerts begin at 15:30, but this is a very popular little series for those "in the know." So get there at 14:30 to pick up your ticket, then wander around the museum (or  find something interesting to do around Potsdamer Platz) till doors to the music auditorium open. The next "Jour Fixe" is on Wednesday, June 29. Check MIM's concert calendar here.