Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg
Encyclopedia
The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg (also known as Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg in German
) is a symphony orchestra
based in Potsdam
, Germany
. It was founded in 1993 by Klaus Peter Beyer. The orchestra derives its name from the legendary Babelsberg Studios
in Potsdam-Babelsberg
, a city part of Potsdam
today, where notable films such as Metropolis
, Dr. Mabuse
and The Blue Angel
were produced. The Film Orchestra frequently presents live performances of silent films and is very active in recording music for the television and film industries. Additionally, the orchestra often collaborates with prominent artists in popular and jazz music on crossover projects.
The Orchestra has worked with the German Metal Band Rammstein and appeared on their 2009 Album "Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da." It has also worked with the German Progressive Rock Band Karat, perhaps most notably on its 1997 album "Balance" and its live album "25 Jahre Karat" (25 Years of Karat, 2001).
From 1993 the studios of the orchestra were located in the former radio quarters of the GDR, at Nalepastraße in Oberschöneweide, Berlin. In December, 2007 the orchestra was able to move "back to the roots" in Babelsberg, into a building in the area of Film Studio Babelsberg.
The German Film Orchestra's current Chief Conductor is Scott Lawton, who assumed his post in 1999. The former conductor was Frank Strobel.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) is a symphony orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was founded in 1993 by Klaus Peter Beyer. The orchestra derives its name from the legendary Babelsberg Studios
Babelsberg Studios
The Studio Babelsberg, located in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. Founded in 1912, it covers an area of about . Hundreds of films, including Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel were filmed there...
in Potsdam-Babelsberg
Potsdam-Babelsberg
Babelsberg is the largest district of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam in Germany. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as for Studio...
, a city part of Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
today, where notable films such as Metropolis
Metropolis (film)
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
, Dr. Mabuse
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series, about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. It was directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1922. The film is silent and filmed mostly 16 frames per second. It would be followed by The Testament...
and The Blue Angel
Der blaue Engel
The Blue Angel is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1930, based on Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat. The film is considered to be the first major German sound film and it brought world fame to actress Marlene Dietrich...
were produced. The Film Orchestra frequently presents live performances of silent films and is very active in recording music for the television and film industries. Additionally, the orchestra often collaborates with prominent artists in popular and jazz music on crossover projects.
The Orchestra has worked with the German Metal Band Rammstein and appeared on their 2009 Album "Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da." It has also worked with the German Progressive Rock Band Karat, perhaps most notably on its 1997 album "Balance" and its live album "25 Jahre Karat" (25 Years of Karat, 2001).
From 1993 the studios of the orchestra were located in the former radio quarters of the GDR, at Nalepastraße in Oberschöneweide, Berlin. In December, 2007 the orchestra was able to move "back to the roots" in Babelsberg, into a building in the area of Film Studio Babelsberg.
The German Film Orchestra's current Chief Conductor is Scott Lawton, who assumed his post in 1999. The former conductor was Frank Strobel.