Mamlok, Modarresifar, Boulez, Lee, Kurtág, Staud, Illés

One summer day, I found myself once again in the Werner-Otto-Saal of the Konzerthaus Berlin. Indeed, I was back here for another avant-garde chamber recital, this time by violiist Rachel Kolblyakov as well as by the Track3 Ensemble, consisting of clarinet, viola, and piano. They happen to be the latest recipients of a prize by the Dwight and Ursula Mamlok Foundation, and this was a concert held in this occasion. And yes, it featured several modern and contemporary pieces.

Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves

I went all the way to Mainz for this one. Given that it's a Mazzoli opera, not to mention that it had an intense subject matter, I felt like I wanted to see this one, and it didn't matter if it was all the way in Mainz. It was absolutely worth it.

Schnittke, Klebanov, and Weinberg

I attended a concert recently in the Komische Oper. But as is typical with opera houses, they offer not only operas but also other concerts, including chamber music recitals. And this time, there was a concert on the program that was rather interesting, as it consisted of works of composers who were persecuted by the Soviets. On the program were works by Alfred Schnittke, Dmitri Klebanov, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg. I attended this concert for the Schnittke pieces, as I have less familiarity with the other composers.

Childs and Shostakovich

So we were in the Philharmonie yet again recently. And we saw a concert by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, featuring two works I haven't heard of before. They played Billy Childs' Diaspora: Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, as well as Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60, "Leningrad". I wasn't familiar with either pieces, not to mention I haven't seen a saxophone concerto before, so I was looking forward to this one.

Olga Neuwirth's Orlando

Somehow, I ended up getting a ticket for Orlando (2019), which is a "music-theatre in 19 scenes," based on the 1928 novel by Virginia Woolf. It was produced recently in the Komische Oper Berlin, and was a multimedia explosion that transcends traditional genre boundaries. Komische Oper said it was a queer sci-fi hybrid grand opera, so I was curious.

Bernstein, McTee, Barber, and Copland

I recently was in the Philharmonie again, this time to listen to the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin perform a quintessential "Americana" program. However, for someone who leans toward the post-WWII avant-garde (Xenakis, Grisey, Lachenmann) and the "Hard Minimalism" of Reich and Andriessen, this program presented me with an interesting tension. It balanced the "Great American" populist sound with high-octane virtuosity and contemporary living voices. While I didn't enjoy all four pieces equally, I still had a great time that evening.

Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream

I recently saw my third Britten opera. A Midsummer Night's Dream was playing at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and as it coincided with a family visit, we all decided we would attend. I have to say, I thought I didn't like it, but in the end, I enjoyed it.

Claudio Santoro's Alma

I actually haven't heard of Claudio Santoro before. I never knew that this Brazilian composer even existed in the first place. So a few weeks ago, when I was looking for interesting events to attend, my AI bot alerted me to this production, as it was being produced in Dessau. And Dessau was just about 90 minutes away by train. So I went.

Sigfúsdóttir, Corigliano, Schwertsik, and Respighi

On a recent evening, I opted to go to the Philharmonie. I had tickets to see the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, in particular its series where young performers make their debut. I like this series, as it tends to showcase young talent, as well as modern music. Not to mention that the tickets are also rather cheap in comparison with other concert series. This time, the program was essentially a fantastic survey of different modernisms (e.g. atmospheric, virtuosic, and ironic).

Alfred Schnittke's Life with an Idiot

Once again, I went to Magdeburg to see this opera. Given my penchant for the visceral, the complex, and the avant-garde, Alfred Schnittke’s Life with an Idiot (Жизнь с идиотом) is a choice that aligned remarkably well with my "high-octane" musical palate.

Schnittke, Mozart, and Honegger

So, I went all the way to Leipzig for this one. I was looking for something to do one Thursday evening, and I was advised that the Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig was playing a concert that I had a high likelihood of enjoying. So I did my research and concluded that it was worth travelling there from Berlin. I am glad that I did.

MaerzMusik: Lange, Rodriguez, Lin, and Seglias

I attended a total of three concerts for this year's MaerzMusik Festival. The last event I attended was a concert by the Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, featuring four chamber works. The program is essentailly a "who's who" of the cutting-edge contemporary scene. That, coupled with my strong affinity for high-modernism, spectralism, and complex rhythmic structures, I thought that this concert was right up my alley.

MaerzMusik: Fullman

I attended multiple concerts during MaerzMusik 2026. The second concert I attended was the world premiere of Ellen Fullman's Energy Archive 4 for Long String Instrument and String Quartet, the latter being performed by my favourite string quartet that specialises in contemporary classical music, the Jack Quartet.

MaerzMusik: Haas

Yes, MaerzMusik happens again in 2026. This time I bought tickets for three concerts, the one of them was the opening concert featuring Georg Friedrich Haas' 11000 Saiten. Given my sophisticated palette — which clearly leans toward the rigorous, the spectral, and the "living" — the opportunity to hear this monumental work is the contemporary music equivalent of a planetary alignment.

Haydn, Assad, and Debussy

So, a few weeks ago, the Takács Quartet was in Berlin, and while I was not too enthusiastic about the program, I also knew that they are a rather respected string quartet, and so I procured a ticket. They were playing three pieces from three different musical periods, and while I thought this was rather too much all over the place, the fact that one of them was a contemporary piece made me want to see it.

Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites

I went all the way to Dresden to see this one. The Semperoper was producing it earlier this year, and one of the dates was designated as "Dresdentag", which meant that Category 1 seats were being sold for a low price, compared to the usual. I couldn't resist not going. And I am glad that I did.

Brahms and Attahir

I recently attended a chamber recital in the Pierre Boulez Saal. This time, it featured a program consisting of two pieces by Johannes Brahms, as well as a world premiere of a piece by Benjamin Attahir for horn, violin, and piano. I was drawn to this concert by two aspects: of course there was the world premiere of a contemporary piece, and I was hoping it would align with my general preferences. Also, the horn player was none other than Ben Goldscheider, who I previously saw perform a few months ago, in the same venue. That contemporary recital was fantastic, and I was hoping I would see a similar performance. Alas, this concert was slightly different than what I expected.

Tsiligkiridis, Anadolis, Papageorgiou, Tsontakis, and Kotepanos

When we were in Athens a few weeks ago, we attended a concert by the Piandaemonium Ensemble. This is actually a group of pianists, performing on 6 pianos. It's essentially a piano orchestra. I was wondering about how the sound would be like, so we decided to check this out.

Hrabovsky, Wang, Terranova, Andre, Saunders, and Furrer

Earlier this year, I went to the Konzerthaus to attend a rather avant-garde chamber recital. It was a concert held in the Werner-Otto-Saal, and while I have been to the Konzerthaus before and have seen concerts in their larger venues, this was the first time I was attending a concert in the chamber recital hall, right at the topmost floor of the building. The program also featured rather avant-garde pieces, so I was quite looking forward to this intimate occasion.

Ultraschall Berlin: Kendall, Ivičević, and Dean

I always look forward to this festival of contemporary classical music, held in January. I do not attend all concerts, but just a selection. For this year, I just attended the final concert of the festival, featuring three works from three composers I haven't encountered before. And I must say, it was a fantastic performance!