IMAGE: © Charité | Maria Streltsova
Close partnership between international luminaries unites medicine and music
Berlin, March 13, 2026
The Berlin Philharmonic and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, two internationally leading institutions in their respective fields, are expanding their collaboration. With the signing of a cooperation agreement, both partners reaffirm their shared commitment to closely linking excellence, innovation, and social responsibility.
What unites art and science is the desire to transcend boundaries: The Philharmonic is renowned worldwide for its artistic excellence, profound interpretation, the promotion and training of emerging international talent, and a sustained commitment to cultural education in Berlin and around the globe. Charité combines outstanding patient care, cutting-edge biomedical research, and academic teaching at an international level. In this new collaboration, both institutions are pooling their expertise to gain insights at the intersection of music, health, and medicine.
The aim of the collaboration is to systematically research and utilize music-related processes for prevention, recovery, mental health, and quality of life. At the same time, it seeks to open up new perspectives on resilience, creativity, and performance in demanding professional contexts such as an orchestra. The collaboration is planned to be strategically expanded in the coming years. Planned research projects include those focusing on music and prevention, music physiology, mental health, the neurobiological foundations of musical effects, and technological applications in the digital realm. Furthermore, the partners intend to develop formats that make music and medicine accessible to the public – for example, through dialogue concerts or music-based health initiatives.
Andrea Zietzschmann, Director of the Berlin Philharmonic Foundation, said: “Charité and the Berlin Philharmonic are two institutions of global standing that are now joining forces in a groundbreaking alliance. Music has an impact far beyond the concert hall – it touches people, connects them, and has been proven to promote health and quality of life. In our partnership with Charité, we see a great opportunity to combine artistic and scientific excellence and to gain sound insights into how music empowers people.”
Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer, CEO of Charité: “When two world-class institutions collaborate, it sends a strong signal for Berlin. The collaboration with the Philharmonic opens up new perspectives for us at the intersection of medicine, science, and culture. Together, we want to explore how musical processes can support prevention, healing, and mental health – and integrate this knowledge into both medical practice and society.”
The collaboration is designed for the long term and reflects a clear shared vision: music and medicine in dialogue – for the benefit of people far beyond the capital.