Castle in the Air

First, Berlin's Palace Bellevue lost its prince -- President Horst Köhler, who resigned in a huff -- and now the city has lost its Palace. The reconstruction of the baroque Stadtschloß was to begin in 2011. But the government's latest austerity measures have shelved plans for one of Germany's most high-flying cultural projects.

Bombed and burned out after the war, the original palace was demolished by the GDR and replaced by the Palace of the Republic, a Stalinist rectangular box with bronze reflective glass.

After the discovery in 1990 of asbestos contamination, the bronze glass box stood closed and sealed for the next few years. Some hated it; some loved it. But in 1993 it was finally decided that the Palace of the Republic had to go -- as much for its historical symbolism as for the asbestos.

Then began the palace debate. What was the best way forward? Keep the GDR Palace after all, for the sake of nostalgia? (After all, how many parliamentary buildings also housed a bowling alley for the people!) Reconstruct the baroque palace, even though the result might be suspiciously close to kitsch? Wipe the slate clean and start anew?

After years of bitter wrangling, a concept for the Humboldt Forum -- a center for the arts and sciences -- was finally approved. Blueprints showed a historical facade replicating three sides of the original palace, but the Forum was unmistakably 21st-century in design and purpose. It would house part of the Humboldt University's Library, as well as the prized collection of non-European art from the Ethnological Museum in Dahlem. This was Berlin's answer to the 21st century museums in Abu Dhabi and Qatar or Aga Khan's museum opening this Fall in Toronto, Canada. All this came with a price tag of 552 million Euros.

But this is no time for big spending, says the government, freezing construction for at least three years. The mayor is incensed. The director of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is wary, fearing that plans may be put into cold storage indefinitely. Financiers are critical, saying they see no real savings, given the huge cost of now renovating the Dahlem museum, which is in a dismal state of disrepair.

And the Berliners? They are used to temporality.  Eighty percent of them did not believe we needed another palace anyway. And now that summer is finally, finally here, they can't believe their luck: they've just got 18,000 square meters of grassy meadow in the city's historic center with a view of the River Spree and the Lustgarten in which to lounge in their deck chairs. Let the summer roll on!

photo: Mike Wolff

Adieu, Maestro

Ingo Metzmacher, the dynamic conductor of Berlin's Deutsches Symphonie Orchester (DSO) will be making his last appearance with the orchestra this June. After a stormy showdown with the orchestra's four shareholders last year, Metzmacher made a surprise announcement of his departure. Even now, a year later,  you can hear the anger and frustration in his voice on the rare occasions on which he speaks publicly about his decision.

photo: copyright, Mathias Bothor

The strong bond between Metzmacher and his orchestra is so palpable in a live performance it can make your skin tingle. The DSO has had great conductors before (Kent Nagano was the last), but Metzmacher, the young orchestra's first German conductor, has done the most to bring novel ideas into the concert hall. He offers fresh, intriguing programming (one season was devoted to a musical exploration of "the German Soul"), and his trademark Casual Concerts are almost always sold out. At Casual Concerts orchestra members perform in jeans and T-Shirts, and Metzmacher often interrupts them to address the audience, mixing musical analysis and historical perspective with flashes of wry humor. All seats go for a flat 15 Euro, giving the audience profile a shake-up.

A year ago, it seemed as though nothing could stop the DSO and Ingo Metzmacher: they were on a roll. What happened next shows how closely -- and sometimes, disastrously --  politics, business and culture are interlinked in Berlin.

The four shareholders, including two public radio stations, the city of Berlin and the federal government, agreed to an additional subsidy of six million Euros from 2010-12 for the ROC (Rundfunkorchester und-chöre), the four-member ensemble to which the DSO is tied. Now, this level of public financial support for music is extraordinary for most parts of the world. Just ask any leading American orchestra.

The conditions attached to the subsidy, however, were unpalatable for Metzmacher. A disproportionate chunk went to the second orchestra in the ensemble, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB), although last year's numbers show that the DSO pulled in twice as many concertgoers and raised twice the amount of revenue. While the RSB was allowed to expand, positions in the DSO (114 requested) were frozen at 103. Just last season, the orchestra lost three prized members to orchestras in Leipzig, Vienna and Munich, which could offer more secure and better paid positions.

The shadow of the Wall falls across the negotiations: in divided Berlin, the DSO was the RIAS Orchestra, (Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor), the leading orchestra in the West. And, yes, you might have guessed -- its arch rival, the RSB, was East Berlin's top orchestra.

The show must go on. DSO will perform with guest conductors till they find the right man for the job, and season ticket-holders will probably remain true in Fall 2010. But Metzmacher's departure will recalibrate the sound of this vibrant, young orchestra, and the competition with Berlin's six other major orchestras will be tougher than ever. Adieu, maestro. You -- and the DSO -- deserved better.

photo: copyright, Mathias Bothor

Ingo Metzmacher's final performance with the DSO in Berlin will be on Monday, June 14, at 20:00, at the Philharmonie, Berlin. The DSO, with Ingo Metzmacher, then launches into its busy summer schedule,  performing in several European cities including London, at the BBC Proms. For more information go to www.dso-berlin.de