Sometimes people ask me, “Is there anything new online that has totally amazed you?” Usually I fumble around for an answer, and look a little dumb. Not much amazes me, I guess. But right now, I do have an answer: the Berlin Philharmonic’s online concert hall.
I should start by noting that I have been going to orchestra concerts for 40 years, but I’ve never been a fan of TV broadcasts (the awful “Great Performances” stuff on PBS) or even concert DVDs. Not only are they extremely limited in terms of selection, but the impact of actually being in the hall has almost always been completely missing. But for some reason I can’t quite explain, the online experience they’ve created in Berlin feels completely different to me. Seeing these concerts on a good monitor and audio system on my desk has an immediacy I have never felt from TV or DVD. (Maybe I should sit as close to my TV as I do to the monitor.) The quality of the HD photography and sound is stunning, as is the engineering and lavish design of the site itself. It helps, of course, that the Berlin Philharmonic is an exceptional institution – musicians, programming, conductors, concert hall. Just about every concert is worth the time. You should visit the actual site, but here’s a sample of the music (make sure you switch to HD, and full screen).
For about $200 a year, you can watch any Berlin concert live online, or whenever you want via the comprehensive archive. There are also monthly passes, online tickets for individual concerts, all clearly explained. If there’s a live concert coming up, you’ll see a countdown clock on the upper right. Thinking about buying a ticket to this weekend’s concert? You can watch a couple of minutes of the rehearsal earlier in the week, to see if you like the music. As I said: Wow.
You can imagine some nice features the site doesn’t have – I might like to listen to the audio of these concerts on an iPod, for example. But that’s trivial compared with what has been accomplished.
I can’t imagine how much it cost to develop all this, or to produce a multi-camera, broadcast-quality video of each concert on an ongoing basis. On the other hand, what other future for orchestras is there? Most are still primarily focused on filling up two thousand seats in a physical hall for each concert, which of course is an admirable and perhaps necessary goal. But if it’s listeners you want, and paying listeners, with this site we can now see the spectacular new model for how and where to find them.
