Simon Rattle and the new London concert hall...

[Alison]

Does the Berlin Philharmonic have an ideal hall then?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Something radically new, designed to really engage new and diverse audiences, and somewhere in central England, (somewhere near Birmingham,within an hour and a half of most of the biggest populations is feasible) would be a far more worthwhile project, IMO.

Bearing in mind that the in recent referendum the Scots opted to remain part of the UK, Birmingham (which already has a wonderful state-of-the-Art concert hall, anyway) is surely too far south? How about central Britain - Carlisle?

[MrGongGong]

Or even Newcastle

Why not build a concert hall at every service station on the M6?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Why not build a concert hall at every service station on the M6?

Trust House Fortissimo?

[MrGongGong]

Trust House Fortissimo?

Moto perpetuo ?

[mercia]

eine kleine chefmusik

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

eine kleine chefmusik

- oh, I wish I'd thought of that. (Wasting too much time on Bach's Happy Eater Oratorio which is feeble by comparison.)

[teamsaint]

part of the Granados chain?

[Petrushka]

Does the Berlin Philharmonic have an ideal hall then?

Interesting question. I've been there four times (others on here such as Stanfordian have been more often and are better qualified) and it's not an acoustically bad hall at all for concerts. However, recording in there has proved more problematic ever since Karajan moved to recording there in around 1974. With the orchestra centrally situated and the audience all around it, there are no restricted views and no-one is too far away.

The best hall in the world acoustically, has to be the Vienna Musikverein though sightlines aren't that good everywhere. I've not been to the Concertgebouw but that is up there with the best. Out of the ones I've visited I particularly like the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire.

[slarty]

I agree with Pet - the Philharmonie is a very good hall for concerts and it is getting better for recordings since the advent of the DCH.
However it is a different proposition now to the hall Karajan used as it was closed for a couple of years in the 90s for a complete makeover in and out, so the acoustic from
1974 until 1992(I think that it was closed for 2 or 3 years) and now is considerably different.
I went often before and after and I think, based on memory that I preferred the "Karajan" Philharmonie to the one we have now.
The Concertgebouw along with the Musikvereinsaal are probably the two best of the traditional halls in Europe (I can't speak for Moscow or St Petersburg)
closely followed by the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels and the Herkulessaal in Munich.
Of the more modern halls, I particularly like the Philharmonie in Köln.

[Ferretfancy]

There have been suggestions lately that Rattle will take on the LSO provided some sort of deal is worked out to build a new concert hall. There's a nice historical irony here.
When the Barbican was being designed, the LSO were very keen to secure a permanent residency there. They even formed the LSO Club in order to demonstrate to the City of London that they had a large support base. However,they did not show much interest in helping to plan the building when they could have done so, it seems that they preferred to stand back and let others do the job.
Thus we now have an unsatisfactory concert hall with indifferent acoustics and no room on the platform for a large chorus, and no organ. I can only hope that the LSO remembers its past mistakes if it has a part to play in building a new hall in future.

[gradus]

All that would be needed is a copy of the Queens Hall architect's drawings, by repute it had the finest concert hall acoustic in the UK before the major alterations during WW2.

[Nick Armstrong]

Something radically new, designed to really engage new and diverse audiences, and somewhere in central England, (somewhere near Birmingham, within an hour and a half of most of the biggest populations is feasible) would be a far more worthwhile project, IMO.

Does Symphony Hall in Birmingham no longer count as 'new'? And would that be wise, given the stunning venue that's available in B'ham, thanks in no small part to Sir S.D. Rattle's last sojourn?

[Nick Armstrong]

All that would be needed is a copy of the Queens Hall architect's drawings, by repute it had the finest concert hall acoustic in the UK before the major alterations during WW2.

Very much what I had in mind when I posted this elsewhere: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...005#post468005

Junk the Barbican Hall I say, and do it. Any music-loving Russian or Chinese squillionaires out there?

[teamsaint]

Does Symphony Hall in Birmingham no longer count as 'new'? And would that be wise, given the stunning venue that's available in B'ham, thanks in no small part to Sir S.D. Rattle's last sojourn?

I was really picking up on the " to match the digital age" line, and trying to suggest, ( in something of a "Fantasy Arts Space" way, that some really radical thinking might be employed as to how to create spaces that would not just serve as an international class concert hall, but which would also serve to really build and attract new audiences, which might require being within sensible travel times of as many major population centres as possible. I'm not at all sure what that would " look like", but perhaps you are right, the Barbican hall should just be junked and replaced.
The need for more capacity seems very unclear, in any case.
Anyway, I like the RFH , and where it is.
all they really need to do is retune the organ .