BERLIN - The home of Berlin's Philharmonic orchestra reopened Monday for concerts and tours, less than two weeks after a fire tore through the building's roof, forcing several concerts to be held elsewhere.
Berlin's German Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to be the first to perform in the building's main concert hall after a May 20 fire forced rescue crews to tear away about a quarter of the roof above it to get to the flames. Monday night's concert was to feature works by Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms.
The Berlin Philharmonic itself is slated to return to its home Thursday to perform works by Dmitri Shostakovich and Maurice Ravel.
A full restoration of the roof is expected to be completed by the winter.
Authorities are investigating whether negligence surrounding welding work on the roof might have sparked the blaze. It was still not known when the investigation will conclude, said Michael Grunwald, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors.
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