HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRANK O. GEHRY! 90 YEARS ON THE PLANET

Listening to the radio at breakfast this morning, I heard that Frank Gehry turns 90 years old today.  The broadcaster said Gehry will celebrate his birthday as the guest of honor at the Pierre Boulez Saal this evening.  Gehry lives in Santa Monica, so why would he come all the way to Berlin for a birthday concert?  I was intrigued.  Juggling cappuccinos and cereal bowls, I quickly tried to book a ticket on the Boulez Saal’s website.  There was only one left, an aisle seat close to the ”front,” but someone else must have been in the process of booking it, because it disappeared before I could say “Brückner.”

Very disappointing!  I’m a big fan of Gehry’s and I’d heard nothing but rave reviews about the acoustics at the Pierre Boulez.  Moreover, I was curious about the design of the hall itself.  In November of last year, we saw an architectural exhibition of two iconic concert hall projects, one of which was by Gehry.  The exhibit was called Frank Gehry – Hans Scharoun: Strong Resonances.  It celebrated the sister-city partnership between Los Angeles and Berlin through rarely seen watercolors, plans, original sketches, photographs, and models of the Berlin Philharmonic (1960–63) designed by Hans Scharoun, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (1999–2003) designed by Gehry (pictured above).  The exhibition also featured drawings for the Pierre Boulez Hall (2014-17).  Scharoun’s influence on Gehry’s design was abundantly clear, so I really wanted to go to the concert tonight.  Unfortunately, some earlier bird had beat me to it.

There are interesting intersections (and divergences) between Scharoun and Gehry beyond their shared architectural professions.  One unexpected intersection relates to modern German art.  Both men were enamored of German Expressionism and designed art installations for its display, albeit 60-70 years apart.  In the early 1920’s, Scharoun organized the first exhibition of the German Expressionist group, Die Brücke, in East Prussia.  In 1983, Gehry designed the exhibition at LACMA for the German Expressionist Sculpture Exhibition and the installation in 1991-92, of the landmark exhibition Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany, which traveled to the Altes Museum in Berlin.  German Expressionism profoundly influenced both men’s architectural styles.  You can see that as plain as day in the Walt Disney Concert Hall above and in the Berlin Philharmonie below. 

Exterior Berlin Philharmonie

One significant divergence in the men's backgrounds lies in  race.  Scharoun was a German, born in Bremen.  He didn’t leave Germany during the Nazi era, as did many of his friends, and I don’t know if he was a member of the National Socialist Party.  Gehry is a Jew born in Canada.   He changed his surname from Goldberg to Gehry in 1956 in response to the antisemitism he endured as a child and as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California.  It is a testimonial to art’s ability to bridge racial divides and link together two creative geniuses, one Jewish and the other not.   Art is race-blind and democratic; it serves only beauty and the good inherent in all men.

Democratic is an appropriate word to describe the interiors of the Berlin Philharmonie and the Boulez Saal.  I mentioned in the opening paragraph that I was seeking a “front” seat for tonight’s concert.  I put “front” in quotes because there is actually no front in the Boulez Saal, nor is there one in the Berlin Philharmonie.  Both concert halls have a centralized performance space with seating that radiates up and out from the center.   There are no bad seats in either hall and both offer a very intimate experience for the concert goer. 

Interior Pierre Boulez Saal

Interior Berlin Philharmonie

As a birthday gift from Gehry I offer his thoughts on the creative process which I found displayed on the wall at the Frank Gehry – Hans Scharoun: Strong Resonances exhibition:

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. GEHRY! 

Keep it real!

Marilyn