May 26–28, 2012

Carillon

International Festival and Symposium of bell tower music

Concerts

May 26–28, 2012

The Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten is celebrating its 25th anniversary – with an international festival and a symposium of bell tower music.

The Carillon was presented to the City of Berlin by Daimler-Benz AG to mark the 750th anniversary of its founding. The initiative was based on an idea by the musician and composer Jeffrey Bossin, who has since been giving concerts on the carillon. The tower was intended as a memorial to the carillons in the Parochialkirche and the Garnisonkirche in Potsdam, which were both destroyed in the Second World War.

The bell tower is 42 meters high and clad in black granite. Several architects contributed to the design, among them Axel Schultes. Boasting 68 bells, it is the fourth largest Carillon in the world and has a pitch range of five and a half octaves. The largest bell weighs 7.8 tons.

The carillonneur, Jeffrey Bossin, performs concerts every Sunday from May to September, and on selected holidays throughout the year, usually at 3 p.m.(2 p.m. in December). The carillon also plays computer-controlled pieces at 12 noon and 6 p.m. daily. The world’s leading composers and virtuosos of bell tower music are gathering in Berlin for the international festival marking Pentecost 2012.

Artistic direction: Jeffrey Bossin

In co-operation with Musikinstrumentenmuseum Berlin and Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds