Philharmonie Firefighters Get Free Tickets
Reports today from Deutsche Welle and Bloomberg confirm that worst case scenarios being bandied about yesterday will remain firmly in the realm of the imaginary.
It took until early this morning (ECT) for the fire to be extinguished completely with nearly 1,600 square meters (17,200 sq ft) of the roof destroyed since 2pm ECT yesterday. The main auditorium escaped harm and overall water damage is minimal, thanks to the foresight of firefighters and the drainage system in the roof. All reports indicate that aside from the millions of Euros needed to repair the tin roof, there is very little additional damage.
There has been much speculation that the fire was caused by welding equipment left over from routine maintenance. A police spokesperson indicated that negligent arson has not been ruled out.
According to the orchestra’s director, Pamela Rosenberg, business at the Philharmonie would resume on 2nd June.
The concerts this weekend with Claudio Abbado have been relocated to the Waldbuhne, the Philharmonic’s summer venue. The performances of Berlioz’ Te Deum and Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 have been sold out for ages but now that available seating has expanded from 1300 to 22,000 there should be plenty of room to accommodate the 500 responding firefighters and police who were given free tickets.
