The Musikfest Berlin, one of the largest orchestral festivals in the world, begins on August 30th.

What can and must such a festival achieve when representational discourses become more and more polemical?

We talked about this with Winrich Hopp, who has directed the Musikfest Berlin since 2005.

Jan Brachmann

Editor in the features section.

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In addition to the Bayreuth Festival, the Berlin Festival, to which the Musikfest Berlin belongs, is the major festival in which the federal government plays a key role as financier.

What opportunities and risks are associated with such a commitment?

I see fewer risks than opportunities. With the then Minister of State for Culture and Media, the federal government took the initiative in founding the Musikfest Berlin more than fifteen years ago. And the establishment was definitely seen as a reconnection to the traditional Berliner Festwochen, with the Philharmonie as the central venue and the Berliner Philharmoniker as a basic partner. Then there are the other large Berlin-based orchestras and the national and international guests. A structure with such strong partners requires reliable financial resources made available by the federal government. In addition to the opportunities, I also feel the responsibility here to work towards this structure and to develop it and not to work past it and let it wither away.

Do you have more programmatic freedom when the federal government injects so much money? The proportion of contemporary music is astonishingly high.

It is not that much money considering the requirements that define the festival structure. It could be more. It doesn't work without third-party funding, which makes up a significant part of my work. But I appreciate the federal government donations. Because they not only make this festival possible, but also longer-term planning. And I have the impression that the work of the Berlin Music Festival is being followed closely. As far as the proportion of contemporary music is concerned, I don't find it that high. I do not find the word about the integration of contemporary music in the repertoire sufficient. I have in mind the integration of the repertoire in the context of contemporary music. The questions to history always arise from a today.

If you look at the portfolio of the Berliner Festspiele, art and theater forms that aim to dissolve classical ensemble associations dominate there. Does the music festival with its large orchestras still fit into this environment?

I don't think the diagnosis is correct. Anyone who presents or tries alternative forms does not immediately speak out about the dissolution of traditional structures. It's about diversity, about liveliness. In terms of music, too, the Berliner Festwochen in particular offered alternative start-ups such as the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the Ensemble Modern residences for experimentation and self-discovery. The Musikfest Berlin continues this tradition. The Mini Ensemble by Joolz Gale and the Ensemblekollektiv Berlin, for example, are important representatives of new developments that should be given space, time, money and attention, for example at the Berlin Music Festival and in such a beautiful hall as the Philharmonie.

The philharmonic orchestra is a symbol of representation and integration of civil society in the nineteenth century. What future can it have if, in the wake of demands for diversity, completely different ideas of representational justice determine the discourse?