Yellow Lounge

This is not the last place to go and/or to be seen. This is not a bar, an art gallery or a restaurant. Nevertheless It is the place to be since years for the nightout and you can't come to Berlin and not have been to berghain. I already talked about parties we had and surely will have at this hype place (an old electricity company, incredible what they have done with it) but today you will discover a new face of this place : the "classical" one. So normally you queue at 3-4 o'clock in the morning (I always arrive early so I don't !) among a crowd mixing every style. I have friends who don't go out at night, put the alarm clock at 6.00 a.m and go dancing at the after. They say It is the best time but at this hour I am very far from being able to keep on dancing. Last time when I went out at 5.00 I had to put my sunglasses because the (real) light hurt my eyes ! well anyway, for this special Yellow Lounge It's way earlier, about 9.00 p.m. We queue as usual but the crowd is diffferent, much more up tight, clean and shaved. Here you will notice an elegant black dress, there another one, those dresses you would normally see at the opera, embassy cocktails or grand openings. The other Berlin. At the entrance door the logo and its yellow cubes to demonstrate that classical music can enter anywhere. It is a cause served with passion by a new generation of musicians, all members of audacious groups : Mahler Chamber Orchestra, pianist Hélène Grimaud, soprano Danielle de Niese, unexpected Sting, Edin Karamazv and their lute ... . Last May 13th saw the venue of the Fauré Quartett : piano, violin, alto and cello. We go in the place without bumping anyone, your ticket costs 5 €. You don't really recognize the temple of the electro. The darkroom corridors are free, the metalic stairs make less noise than the other nights, the scene is at the first floor but the building is still amazing. As a starter and to keep you waiting, 2 DJ's (Key and Terrible, true, this is no invention !) are mixing classical music. You can read some texts moving on the glass window separating the bar. In such a place doing minimalistic atmosphere (no special light effects) is really a big bet but success seems there. The Quartett just arrived and starts to play Dvorak, Mahler, Brahms ... . The public is completely thrilled and huge screens show the event. Even Arte (if I had TV I would watch only this channel) is there and helps for the event. The images are B&W, full coloured, sepia, distortioned. But soon It is the end and we leave acclaiming the quartett playing a few late notes. The electro will take its place back and its public. The idea of Yellow Lounge comes from Deutsche Grammophon and Universal Music (also in Berlin) and was launched in February 2001 in Hamburg (2 hours from here) at the bar Die Welt ist schön (the world is nice). Moved to Berlin in 2004 the concept arrived at Cookies (you can forget now, was OK a few years ago) before moving to other clubs. Famous german DJ's come to mix music and celebrities give concerts. Since April 2003 David Canisius from the Deutsche Kammer Orchester is resident DJ of the Yellow Lounge in Berlin. You never know when the next event will take place. You're informed via the newsletter so you must be registered. Another way to discover and to listen classical music.