The Berliner Philharmonie was designed by Hans Scharoun and built from 1960 to 1963, opening on October 15, 1963, with Herbert von Karajan conducting Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It replaced the old Philharmonie, destroyed by bombing on January 30, 1944. The article names no client and no materials.
The article calls it a singular building, asymmetrical and tentlike, with a pentagonal main hall. It pioneered vineyard-style seating, with 2,440 seats in the Grand Hall and 1,180 in the Chamber Music Hall, which opened in the 1980s. The organ, built in 1965 by Karl Schuke, has four manuals and 91 stops.
It stands on the south edge of the Tiergarten, near the former Berlin Wall and the Kulturforum. A roof fire on May 20, 2008, attributed to welding, ended with performances resuming on June 1. It is the main venue of the Berlin Philharmonic, whose subscription concerts fill the Grand Hall.
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