Empty concert hall with black wood paneling, the floor and stage are light wood, black seating, on the stage a grand piano

Bühne frei! – Your Performance at the Isarphilharmonie

Normally, when you visit eh Isarphilharmonie, you expect to see big stars and grand orchestras. Any you usually know the evening’s programme in advance and buy a ticket before your visit. Not so at Bühne frei!, where anyone can apply to perform on the grand stage: song, dance, readings, performing music – almost anything goes.

As soon as we have details of the next Bühne frei! series, we will let you know them on this page. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest news from the Gasteig directly in your inbox. Subscribe now

Bühne frei! 2023

A total of 40 slots were allocated. The audience at the performances from 31 August to 2 September were made up of the performers’ friends and family. But on the last day, Sunday 3 September, the performances were open to the public, with free admission. Anyone was able to watch as the dream of performing on the grand stage of the Isarphilharmonie came true for the Bühne frei! participants. Who these performers were and what they would perform remained a surprise until the very last moment.

“The idea of allowing people to perform on the stage of the Isarphilharmonie who would not normally have this opportunity proved a great success last summer. From the singing hairdresser to a reciting banker to the yoga group, all participants were totally thrilled.”

Gasteig Managing Director Max Wagner

Have you ever heard a marimba or a vibraphone? Listened to a humorous reading accompanied by piano and boogie? Or taken part in a participative orchestra? All that and more was possible on the last day of Bühne frei! 2023. The programme at the Isarphilharmonie ranged from classical music to folk and pop to readings,

and the age range of the applicants for the sought-after performance slots from 12 to 85 years. In the end, nine individuals and ensembles performed to the public on 3 September 2023 between 10 AM and 7 PM. The performers as well as the times and nature of their performances remained a secret to the very end.

As a symbolic “hall rental fee”, participants pay a donation to a good cause. They can choose to support Music Connects e. V., which offers refugees in the north of Uganda new opportunities in life through music lessons and concerts, or C.O.N. SONANZA e. V., a cultural and social project for children and young people in Munich.