The Palast Orchester (literal translation, Palace Orchestra) is a German orchestra, based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, constituted in the manner of dance bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Its repertoire specialises in cabaret and popular songs of the

Weimar period The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

in Germany and in American popular songs of the same era. The orchestra performs around 120 concerts per year.

History

Max Raabe Max Raabe (born Matthias Otto, 12 December 1962) is a German jazz singer. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester. Career Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 193 ...

founded the orchestra with fellow students at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

in 1985. The ensemble initially used music arrangements that Raabe found whilst shopping at various flea markets. The orchestra worked for one year on learning these arrangements without any public engagements or performances. The orchestra gave its first public performance at the 1987 Berlin Theaterball, in the lobby as a secondary act, but with such success that the audience left the ballroom to hear the orchestra's performance in the lobby. The ensemble had its first song hit 5 years later, an original song by Raabe, "Kein Schwein ruft mich an". The members of the orchestra are all men, with the single exception of the violinist, who has always been female. The violinists who have served with the Palast Orchester have included: * Michaela Hüttich (1986–1998) * Emily Bowman (1998–2000) * Hanne Berger (2001–2007) * Cecilia Crisafulli (2007–present) The current full roster of the orchestra is: The performances by the orchestra are an homage to composers of the Weimar era such as

Walter Jurmann Walter Jurmann (October 12, 1903 – June 17, 1971) was an Austrian-born composer of popular music renowned for his versatility who, after immigrating to the United States, specialized in film scores and soundtracks. Biography Born in Vienna, Jur ...

, Fritz Rotter, Will Meisel, Charles Amberg,

Jerzy Petersburski Jerzy Petersburski (20 April 1895 – 7 October 1979) was a Jewish Polish pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his Tangos, some of which (such as '' To ostatnia niedziela'', ''Już nigdy'' and ''Tango milonga'' / English an ...

, Günter Schwenn, Adolf Steimel and Ralph Maria Siegel. In addition to its performances of vintage German and American popular songs, the orchestra has also performed contemporary music in the same musical style as the earlier songs, including covers of songs by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

, and

Salt'n'Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, '' Hot, Cool & Vic ...

. The orchestra made its

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

debut in 2005. The ensemble returned to Carnegie Hall in November 2007, and the performance was recorded for commercial release on the album ''Heute Nacht oder nie – Live In New York''. The orchestra returned to Carnegie Hall in March 2014. The orchestra has collaborated with musicians such as

HK Gruber Heinz Karl "Nali" Gruber (born 3 January 1943), who styles himself HK Gruber professionally, is an Austrian composer, conductor, double bass player and singer. He is a leading figure of the so-called Third Viennese School. Career Gruber is said ...

, Peter Lohmeyer, and

Heino Ferch Heino Ferch (born 18 August 1963) is a German film, theatre and television actor. His notable film roles include Albert Speer in '' Downfall'' (2004) and Harry Melchior in ''The Tunnel'' (2001). Biography The son of a merchant sea captain, Hei ...

. In other media, the orchestra appeared in the 1994 film ''Der bewegte Mann''.

Discography

* ''MTV Unplugged'' (2019,

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

GmbH, Berlin)

Videography

References

External links

Official Palast Orchester German-language homepage

Opus3 Artists agency page

"Max Raabe's Palast Orchester: Timeless Elegance". ''All Things Considered'' (National Public Radio), 19 October 2008.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra page on Max Raabe

{{Authority control Orchestras in Berlin Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in Germany