Long Night of Museums
Event date: 08/29/2026
Location: Musikinstrumenten-Museum, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Guided tours, concerts, behind-the-scenes tours, silent films, late-night special
Theme of the Long Night 2026:
Crime in Berlin
Programme at the Musical Instrument Museum
6.00 pm
Pink Panther: Let’s Solve the Case
– Concert for children and families
Who stole the thunder from the Mighty Wurlitzer? This organ can produce the sounds of a whole thunderstorm. But the thunder has vanished! Help us decipher the musical clues and find the thief. An exciting concert for clever children with Jörg Joachim Riehle on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
7 pm and 8 pm
: Forgeries, Scandals and Criminal Tricks
– Guided tour with Benedikt Brilmayer
Behind the glamorous world of music lie astonishing stories. From illegal instrument copies and scandalous relationships to curious rumours about strings made from human entrails: on this guided tour, Benedikt Brilmayer takes you on an exciting quest to uncover the dark side of musical instruments.
7.30 pm, 8.15 pm and 9 pm
: Sound Spaces and Audio Treasures
– a guided tour of the SIM’s acoustic laboratories
This guided tour offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the State Institute for Music Research. Explore the acoustic phenomena in the reverberation chamber and the anechoic chamber. Afterwards, the tour continues to the playback area for historical sound recordings: a paradise for tech enthusiasts.
8.30 pm
: Tango Noir with the Colombo Kociołek Frontini Trio
In collaboration with the Ibero-American Institute
Tango and jazz come together to celebrate a form of music that has been linked to the less glamorous sides of city life from the very beginning. Tango originated in bars, backyards and other seedy corners of Buenos Aires. Lunfardo, a colloquial language originally regarded as the language of crooks, shaped this world – vividly and ambiguously.
9.30 pm
Silent film ‘Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror’ (1922)
Live accompaniment on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Jörg Joachim Riehle
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s “Nosferatu” (1922) is regarded as a milestone of Expressionist silent cinema. This – unauthorised – adaptation of Dracula tells the story of Count Orlok, who brings plague and death to the fictional port city of Wisborg. Jörg Joachim Riehle provides a live musical accompaniment to this horror classic on the Mighty Wurlitzer, one of Europe’s largest cinema and theatre organs.
Midnight at Moka Efti
:
dance and music show with the Dukish Vagabonds
At midnight, the Musical Instrument Museum is transformed into the legendary Berlin dance hall and café ‘Moka Efti’, inviting visitors to experience the music and dance culture of the late 1920s. The Dukish Vagabonds will be playing live to accompany Swing Base’s Charleston performance. The audience won’t just be watching – they’re welcome to join in the dancing!
When visiting the museum, all bags, including small handbags, must be locked away or handed in at the cloakroom. Taking part in guided tours: Due to limited capacity, please register on site from one hour before the tour begins
Tickets available from 3 August at: langenachtdermuseen.berlin