Published on February 14, 2026
VOM ANFANGEN: Opening Concert
by Florian Jäger
Konzerthaus Berlin, Großer Saal
The evening at Konzerthaus Berlin felt like a deliberately set starting point: very contemporary, clearly curated, and overall excellent. The atmosphere in the Grosser Saal under the chandeliers and the organ facade felt ceremonial without becoming stiff.
At the center was the festival opening concert “VOM ANFANGEN” with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Trickster Orchestra, and The Present. The program featured Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 alongside new works by Cymin Samawatie (“Vom Anfangen,” premiere) and “Amphiphilie” by Cymin Samawatie/Ketan Bhatti. The mix of classical symphonic language and a transtraditional sound world was tense and surprisingly coherent.
Most striking was the idea that different musical traditions are not set against each other but open a shared space. The concert made its title tangible: a beginning that is not only new, but made of many voices.