Marin Alsop Debuts with the Berlin Phil

Berin Philharmonie Explores Loss of Paradise in Music

By: Susan Hall - Feb 23, 2025

Marin Alsop debuts with the Berlin Philharmonie in Berlin.

Alsop commands by inviting musicians to shape adventurous music clearly and with passion.  Leading the Berlin Philharmonic for the first time, she chose a special, continent-spanning program. The world premiere of Day Night Day by Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen refers to the songs of the Sami, the indigenous people of northern Finland and revolves around the northern lights and ice that covers and protects the local landscape. 

On the other side of the world, the devastating “Black Saturday” bushfires in Australia in 2009 impelled Brett Dean to compose Fire Music. Dean had been a violist with the Philharmonie for fifteen years.

An American landscape in the eastern United States inspired Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, which he describes through folk song often counterpointed. The birdsong of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil formed the basis of a popular piece for choir and orchestra, Choros No. 10, by Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Alsop is not a showy conductor.  Only her bright red cuffs peeked out from the sleeves of her black jacket. Yet it is easy to see why composers like John Adams entrust her to bring their work to life.  She honors the composer's notes and phrases.  Emphases bring out intent.  Shaping shows off the line. She makes the most of contemporary repetition sequences, conveying both a sense of urgency and complex beauty.

The program offered a different musical experience, which Alsop maximized.  In fact, Tarkiainen’s music swells, sounding more like the movement of tides than of breath.  It is beautiful, with bird songs giving a splendid opportunity to the flute and clarinet.

Percussion starred in both the Tarkiainen and Dean pieces, the timpani playing an unaccustomed downward scale. In Dean’s work, Alsop brought out the bristling hiss and scratch of fire as well as the howls of the orchestra as choir when they joined forces.  Musicians were perched near the organ pipes high up in the hall.  Others found balcony spots in which to play. The effect was surround sound; the audience embraced.

For the Villa-Lobos choir, the orchestra was joined by the Rundfunkchor Berlin under the dramatic direction of Gijs Leenaars. 

The Berlin musicians seemed to appreciate their new experience.  The audience went wild for the music.