Concert marathon for Berlin Philharmonic at 125 04/11/2007 00:00

Berlin (dpa) - The Berlin Philharmonic was playing an all-day marathon of concerts Sunday to mark the 125th anniversary of its foundation by 54 disgruntled musicians.

The orchestra scheduled a special series of concerts including music by Wagner, Mozart, Beethoven and Stravinsky under its British- born director, Sir Simon Rattle, 52.

Rattle said earlier in an interview that the thrill of conducting what is often judged to be the world's greatest orchestra has not diminished, adding, "The problem is that it is too good."

The orchestra was formed in 1882 by musicians fed up with their conditions in a commercial music group.

The Philharmonic's anniversary has taken a sombre tone, with the orchestra becoming one of the last major German institutions to face up to its Nazi-era lapses.

Under an earlier great conductor, Herbert von Karajan, a former member of the Nazi Party, that aspect was rarely talked about.

It has organized a film, an exhibition and a book about the orchestra under the Nazis as leading cultural ambassadors of the Third Reich, giving performances to mark Adolf Hitler's birthdays.

DPA

Subject: German news