75 years of excellent music education

The Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin celebrates its anniversary

Redner am Pult, im Hintergrund junge Pioniere auf der Bühne — 1950 Rektor Prof. Georg Knepler, Er?ffnung des Staatlichen Konservatoriums © Zentralbild

Hochschulkammerorchester unter Leitung von Prof. Werner Scholz, 1984, mit Frank Reinicke, Antje Weithaas, Thomas B?ttcher, Ulrike Petersen, Kai Vogler, Ulrike Eschenburg, geb. Engel, Kai Vogler, Tim Vogler, Gernoth Sü?muth, Jan Vogler, Peter Bruns, Stefan Malzew, Katrin Hinz, Matthias W?chter, Annegret Siedel, Michael Scheitzbach, Zazie Zieme, Matthias Worm, Friedemann Mittentzwei, J?rg Lorenz, Sebastian Engelhardt © Archiv HfM

In the winter semester of 2025/26, the school will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a special anniversary semester full of musical highlights. The premiere of the operetta “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss on October 17th will be followed by five further performances. In the celebratory concert with the school's symphony orchestra on December 8th, Prof. Markus Stenz will conduct Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in the Konzerthaus Berlin. The anniversary concerts on November 13th with the Saxon Wind Philharmonic and on January 30thwith the students of the ECHO Ensemble will feature new works by students as well as compositions by numerous Eisler alumni. A piano forum on December 17th with contributions from guests and contemporary witnesses will look at the special relationship between composers and the music school. The Eisler workshop “The true way of singing Eisler” on November 28th will focus on political Eisler songs, and the “Eisler Stars” series on November 25th will continue the more than 30-year-long cooperation with the Konzerthaus Berlin.

Founded in 1950 as the “Deutsche 懂球帝 für Musik”, it moved into its first premises at Wilhelmstra?e 63 in Berlin-Mitte under the leadership of founding headmaster Georg Knepler, a building still severely damaged by the war at that time. Since 1964, the school has borne the name of the Austrian composer Hanns Eisler, a name that was deliberately retained even after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

When the internationally renowned pianist Annerose Schmidt was democratically elected as the first candidate for headmaster in 1990, the “Hanns Eisler”, with its then more than 1,000 students, was initially up for discussion. Funding as a state school has been secured by Berlin since the end of 1990. Around 550 students – three-quarters of whom are international students from all over the world – are currently graduating at the music school. It is the only one of Germany's 24 musical academies and universities which is entirely focused on artistic education and enjoys a high reputation in the international music world.

The festival program, with numerous events open to the public as well as for students and staff, is supported by a major donation from the “Stiftung am Grunewald” foundation.

Teaser History Calender Lecture Series

Niederlassung der American Express Company Charlottenstra?e 55

History

The Hanns Eisler School of Music over Time

In the wake of our anniversary celebrations, we not only look forward to a bright future for the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, but also proudly back at the 75-year-long history of the music school since its founding on October 1, 1950.

Frau tr?gt Party-Hut mit Lametta und wirft Konfetti

Event Calender

All Events at a Glance

This semester, the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin is celebrating its anniversary with a special event program featuring even more exciting lectures, thrilling concerts, and fascinating musical theater performances, which we cordially invite you to join. Celebrate with us!

Lecture Series

Music and Science Fiction. Aspects of an interdisciplinary Research Topic

In this winter's lecture series, Prof. Dr. Stefan Drees will use selected examples to explore which intellectual impulses of the science fiction genre were taken up musically and how these were implemented artistically.

Musical Theatre

Die Fledermaus

To mark the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss's birth, this autumn 2025 the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin shall finally devote itself to the genre of operetta once again and will be performing Strauss's most famous and successful work as part of its annual major production.

Concert

Eisler Sinfonietta

This semester, the Eisler Sinfonietta, a student ensemble founded in 2018 and lead by Prof. Manuel Nawri, which regularly explores orchestral repertoire in ensemble arrangements, will be performing Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6.

Concert

Saxon Wind Philharmonic – 2 × 75 Years

Together with the Saxon Wind Philharmonic, the Eisler is celebrating its long-standing, successful collaboration with a double anniversary. For this special occasion, a joint concert will feature works by alumni and current students of the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin.

Concert

Scarlattina

To mark the 340th anniversary of Domenico Scarlatti's birth, this Piano Forum is dedicated entirely to the legendary Italian harpsichord virtuoso. The concert will feature some of his 555 published sonatas, which he created during his time at the Portuguese royal court.

Concert

Eisler Stars

Eisler Stars regularly features young, top international musicians and prizewinners of renowned music competitions who study at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. This time, pianist Kenji Miura and violist Zeyang Kan will present works by Ravel, Schubert, and Hindemith, among others.

75 Jahre: Festkonzert - Oleksandra Diachenko, Markus Stenz

Concert

75 Years – Anniversary Concert

At the grand anniversary concert, the Conservatory Orchestra will perform Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3 together with the Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Oleksandra Diachenko, the ladies of the Conservatory Choir and the Canta Chiara Girls' Choir of the Georg-Friedrich-H?ndel-Gymnasium.

Concert

Composers of the GDR Era and Today

For this Piano Forum, we embark on a journey through the history of our renowned educational institution. Students and teachers will perform works by composers with a special connection to the Eisler and respond to them with more recent compositions. The musical pieces are supplemented with contributions by guests speakers and accounts from contemporary witnesses.

Concert

Echo Ensemble

As part of this special occasion, the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin commissioned two compositions from former students of Prof. Hanspeter Kyburz and Prof. Eun-Hwa Cho. These works will be premiered at the Echo Ensemble's anniversary concert, demonstrating that composition instruction at the Eisler goes hand in hand with a vibrant culture of interpreting new music.

Closing Concert

Masterclass Chamber Music

To conclude the masterclass, the works practiced with the students will be presented to a public audience in this final concert. The course and accompanying concert is led by three outstanding teachers from renowned ensembles: Jonathan Aner of the Oberon Trio, Johanna Staemmler from the Armida Quartet, and Peter Jar??ek, part of the Pavel Haas Quartet.