Music in Berlin

Berlin can be regarded as the breeding ground for the powerful choir movement that played such an important role in the broad socialization of music in Germany during the 19th century.

Under his successor Frederick William I (1713–1740), musical life in Berlin lost part of its splendor, due to his focus on the military strengthening of Prussia.

Although statements like this have to be regarded with care for their obvious intention to glorify the person of the ruler, Frederick's reign was indeed a fruitful time for music making in Berlin.

Already at Rheinsberg, where Frederick lived when he was still the crown prince, he had assembled a formidable group of musicians who were to form the core of his Kapelle in Berlin.

The construction of the new opera house started in 1741 and although not fully completed yet the first performance took place on December 7, 1742 with Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare.

The SO36 in Kreuzberg originally focused largely on punk music, but today has become a popular venue for many dances and parties.

SOUND, located from 1971 to 1988 in Tiergarten and today in Charlottenburg, gained notoriety in the late 1970s for its popularity with heroin users and other drug addicts as described in Christiane F.'s book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo.

[1] With a "New Europe" emerging at the end of the Cold War, the rock band U2 chose Berlin, in the centre of the reuniting continent, as a source of inspiration for a more European musical aesthetic.

Several acclaimed records were made at Hansa, including two from David Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" with Eno, and Iggy Pop's The Idiot.

Moreover, Berlin was recognized as the center for music theory and criticism in the 18th century with leading figures like Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, Johann Philipp Kirnberger, Quantz, and C. P. E. Bach whose treatises were being read all over Europe.

The Komische Oper, which has traditionally specialized in operettas, is located not far from the State Opera just off Unter den Linden; it was also in East Berlin.

Throughout the 1990s, people in their twenties from many countries, made Berlin's club scene the premier nightlife destination in the world.

Mitte and surrounding boroughs were home to many nightclubs, including Kunst Haus Tacheles, Cookies, Tresor, WMF, Ufo, E-Werk, KitKatClub and Berghain.