The Palast Orchester was founded in 1986 by Max Raabe and a group of fellow music students yearning to play music from the period of Germany’s Golden Twenties. Over the years they have advanced to the number one band for music of the 20s/30s. In addition to their regular tours through German-speaking countries they often perform in the United States where the list of venues includes Chicago Symphony Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
In 1992 Max Raabe & Palast Orchester entered the German charts for the first time with their song “Kein Schwein ruft mich an” (“Not a Pig Calls Me”), written by Max Raabe. Teaming up with film director Sönke Wortmann two years later for the film “Der bewegte Mann” (The Most Desired Man) made them known to a wider audience.
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester received an ECHO award for their CD “Charming Weill” and also scored well in international charts with two albums on which they interpreted modern pop songs like “Sex Bomb,” “Kiss,” or “Super Trouper” in the style of the 20s.
Since 2010 Max Raabe & Palast Orchester have been influencing the German pop scene with “Raabe Pop” – songs written by Max Raabe in collaboration with top German songwriters. For their live concerts, Max Raabe & Palast Orchester weave these together with original numbers from the 20s/30s into an entertaining show that is selling out venues all over Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The same concept turned their MTV Unplugged production from 2019 into a number one album.
In 2023 Max Raabe & Palast Orchester crowned their career with superlatives. With “Ein Tag wie Gold“ (A Day Like Gold) Max Raabe wrote a hit for the TV series Babylon Berlin in which he and the orchestra also feature. This and two new albums, one of “Raabe-Pop” and another with original songs of the 20s/30s, have lead them to selling out concerts back-to-back.
Many songs have found their way into the “Dream A Little Dream” U.S. tour 2024, ready to capture listeners and let them dream away every-day worries.
Episode 100: The Enduring Allure of Weimar Music and Culture
Max Raabe & the Palast Orchester have been playing the music of and inspired by the 1920s and 30s for almost forty years, to enormous success in Germany and internationally. …
