Berlin is home to one of the finest, and most renowned orchestras in the world: the Berliner Philharmoniker (Berlin Philharmonic). This orchestra is comprised of members from thirty nations, including from nations at war with each other. The Berliner Philharmoniker and its conductor Kirill Petrenko have been ambassadors for UN refugee aid since 2021, the first organisation to earn such a status. The Philharmoniker has publicly supported UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe, the German partner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2021.
Petrenko, a Russian-Austrian Jewish conductor, has publicly condemned the Russian invasion of the Ukraine as a violation of international law and as an attack on the arts. The Philharmoniker has been an official patron of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine since 2023.
In November of 2026, the Philharmoniker will host a family concert in aid of the UN Refugee Agency, as they have consistently since 2021. At the end of the season during the summers, the orchestra also performs an outdoor concert as a fundraiser for the UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe, with the musicians wearing blue ribbons in solidarity with refugees.
The orchestra, as an orchestra of musicians from dozens of countries, represents an interesting microcosm within Berlin of hope amidst the rise of the AfD: through the arts, musicians from across borders at war with each others can create art together and advocate for refugees across the world.
With the rise of the AfD, the Philharmoniker’s public messaging in support of refugees appears to have grown smaller. The artist bios of the musicians, which may have previously stated their country of origin are now revised. In Berlin, I hope to profile the symphony’s work in the refugee advocacy space, write an update on their work in support of the Kyiv orchestras (which has not been done since 2023), and interview musicians and arts administrators on their relationship with the UNHCR, UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe, and the relationships between musicians in the orchestra from nations at war with each other.
While we will be in Berlin, the Philharmoniker will be on their South American tour. However, next week, they will be in New York City performing at Carnegie Hall. I am currently working to see if I can set up interviews with members of the orchestra will they will be here, and also with members and administrators who are not on tour with the orchestra currently to meet with them in Berlin. I also want to speak with affiliates at the UNHCR and with Ukrainian refugee musicians in Berlin.
Being a musician is a skilled trade, and also one that often doesn’t require a shared spoken language at the highest levels. The Berliner Philharmoniker, like most premiere orchestras, conducts blind auditions to fill open chairs, or vacancies in the symphony, and does not require German proficiency, unlike many jobs within Berlin. This can result in an orchestra of the finest musicians, and also musicians who may, should they not have earned a permanent position in the orchestra, would be unable to work in Berlin.
In contrast to the Berliner Philharmoniker, as they will be in South America while we are in Berlin, I hope to interview local musicians, especially migrant or refugee musicians. These are often musicians who “busk” on streets, perform in refugee cafés, nightclubs, lounges, or other smaller musical venues within the city. Therefore, a secondary question guiding my reporting is: does the Berliner Philharmoniker, as an organization that explicitly aims to combat refugee crises, do enough to support refugees within its own city?
