5 Children in 8 Courtyards – A Perfectly Normal Extraordinary Family
Dana and Tobias Sturm have lived in the Hackesche Höfe for 21 years and have raised five children here. Dana Sturm is a répétiteur at the Barenboim-Said Academy; Tobias is a first violinist in the orchestra of the Berliner Staatsoper. During a visit, they talk about the courtyards as a home and playground, and the role they played in their children's musical upbringing.
The Hackesche Höfe are one of Berlin's most prominent landmarks — a tourist attraction, a place to stroll and go out, home to architecture firms, cultural and media companies. But real people live here too. And an extraordinary place tends to attract extraordinary personalities: a celebrated painter and a once-acclaimed theater director both call the Höfe home.
A Life with Music
The Sturms are both things at once — an ordinary family in every sense, and one that stands out through exceptional musical talent. Both parents play significant roles in the city's musical life. Dana Sturm works as a répétiteur, accompanying students at the Barenboim-Said Akademie — the school founded by Daniel Barenboim to nurture musical talent from the Middle East and North Africa. She also performs as a concert pianist, including at the Berliner Staatsoper. At that same institution, Tobias Sturm holds a permanent position in the orchestra, playing one of the prominent first violin chairs — and occasionally stepping into the spotlight with solo passages.
Dream Apartment, Signed Within a Day
The Sturms moved into the Hackesche Höfe in 2005, already bringing three children with them. They had previously lived elsewhere in Berlin Mitte but needed more space for their growing family. After a last-minute rejection for another apartment, they simply called the one place they had always wanted to live — the Hackesche Höfe's property management. As luck would have it, a suitable apartment had just become available. A fortunate coincidence: the lease was signed the very next day. Those were the days…
Over the years, the Sturms managed to bring two close friends' families into the Höfe as well. One lives directly across the courtyard — close enough to wave from balcony to balcony.
A Paradise for Children
Two more children followed after the move. In their four-and-a-half-room apartment, there was just enough space for everyone — with the help of some bunk beds. There is also a balcony, and right outside their front door lies the beautiful green Hof 5, with its generous sandpit surrounding an old chestnut tree. Beyond that, the Hackesche Höfe as a whole make a wonderful playground for children — green, car-free, and safe.
The Höfe also proved beneficial for the children's development in another way. All five children play music. Practicing at home was never a problem — even when the youngest chose the horn, one of the louder brass instruments.
All of the Sturm children turned out to be musical, and several are pursuing professional careers in music. The eldest is nearing the end of his cello studies and already holds an "academy position" — a program that gives exceptionally gifted young artists the chance to gain hands-on experience in a top orchestra for one to two years. Their only daughter studied viola at the UdK, though she has since decided she wants to become a teacher. Another son is beginning his clarinet studies in Stuttgart. The youngest, at 14, is the horn player mentioned above. Only one son truly broke with tradition — setting aside the viola in favor of law.
Where Does the Musicality Come From?
So much musical talent in one family doesn't happen by chance. Dana's parents were professional musicians; in Tobias's childhood home, chamber music was a regular part of family life. But how exactly does musicality pass from one generation to the next? Is it simply that the children grew up surrounded by music and music-making from the very beginning? Dana Sturm believes genetics also play a decisive role: it was only after one son chose the clarinet as his instrument that the family discovered ancestors had been clarinet makers in the Vogtland region for generations.
Visits to the Höfe
Even now that almost all the children have left home, Dana and Tobias Sturm have no intention of leaving their apartment in the Hackesche Höfe. The space still comes in handy — because the children who have moved away from Berlin now come to visit with children of their own.
The constant flow of visitors through the courtyards doesn't bother the Sturms at all. People stroll through in a relaxed, civilized manner. And in the evenings, the Höfe belong to those who live there.
