Hellmut Stern was born in Berlin into a
Jewish family. His father, Dittmar Stern, was a voice teacher, and his mother, Ilse Rose Stern, was a pianist. In 1961, Stern returned to (then
West) Berlin, which he still regarded as his home. Stern joined the
Berlin Philharmonic as a first violinist, and remained with the orchestra for 34 years; he became principal violinist in 1986. He was a member of the orchestra's board () from 1969. He played with many leading conductors of the time, especially with
Herbert von Karajan. He participated in many recordings and was a soloist in several concerts, like the celebrating the orchestra's centenary in 1982, conducted by Vicco von Bülow (
Loriot). He was part of efforts to organize a tour of the orchestra to Israel, first beginning in 1967, when the orchestra would have been welcome, but not Karajan. In 1990, with the orchestra conducted by
Daniel Barenboim, his dream came true. The orchestra played several concerts, especially a joint concert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by
Zubin Mehta. Stern was awarded the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1993 by
Richard von Weizsäcker. He retired in 1994. After his retirement, Stern worked in schools to teach young people about the dangers of fascism and dictatorship, describing himself as a "professional witness" (
Zeitzeuge). Stern published his autobiography,
Saitensprünge in 1990. He died in Berlin on 21 March 2020 at the age of 91. == Published works ==