Favourite concert halls?

[Tony Halstead]

These are my favourite concert halls:
Philharmonie Berlin, Semper Oper house Dresden; Bavarian State Opera House Munich; Philharmonie Munich, Bridgewater hall Manchester; Philharmonic Hall Liverpool; Deutsche Oper house Berlin; Staatsoper Berlin.

But Slarty's OP was

et's nominate the best concert halls around Britain.(Including any now gone - EG FTH)

[johnb]

I'm very fond of St. George's, Bristol - great acoustics (especially for chamber music) and the hall as a lovely 'feel' about it.

[verismissimo]

I'm very fond of St. George's, Bristol - great acoustics (especially for chamber music) and the hall as a lovely 'feel' about it.

Me too, johnb. There and Symphony Hall in Brum.

Oh, and the Symphony Hall at the Sydney Opera House, although I always feel slightly irritated that it isn't the Opera House as intended.

[Barbirollians]

There was a fascinating programme on R3 last year about the Queen's hall which had a legendary acoustic and when they showed its design to a modern concert hall designer it was apparently very narrow compared with modern halls. You could hear he didn't think it should have worked but it evidently did .

[pastoralguy]

I'm very fond of St. George's, Bristol - great acoustics (especially for chamber music) and the hall as a lovely 'feel' about it.

My goodness, this is very similar to the Queens Hall here in Edinburgh.

[salymap]

A late friend told me that she attended proms at the Queen's Hall, as a young girl. She said it was a lovely hall but wondered if, because of its' sad end, it was overhyped [my words].

It didn't have all he modern facilities and maybe was too small for them anyway.

We shall never know.

[Barbirollians]

That's really interesting salymap - although I am sure they said it was not overly comfortable for the audience - rather cramped seats - in that programme.

[Stanfordian]

But Slarty's OP was

Hiya waldhorn, A bit touchy today eh? Clearly a hanging offence, Sorry!

[Ferretfancy]

Until a couple of years ago, a very nice old gentleman used to sit by the fountain at the Proms and he had been at the Queens Hall for the Proms. Sadly, he hasn't appeared this season.

[David-G]

Two modern concert halls which have really impressed me are the large hall at the Sage in Gateshead, and the hall in Kings Place in London. Kings Place is an especial gem, both for acoustics and for looks.

I would second the excellence of the Anvil at Basingstoke. Last year I heard Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette with Elder and the OAE both at the RFH and the Anvil; there was no doubt about the superiority of the Anvil.

I just love the Queens Hall in Edinburgh, the morning concerts there during the Festival are always a particular delight. The hall has excellent acoustics, and somehow always has a friendly atmosphere. And I must mention St Cecilia's hall in Edinburgh, built in 1763 with a delightful elliptical shape, excellent for baroque keyboard and chamber concerts.

[Tony Halstead]

Hiya waldhorn, A bit touchy today eh? Clearly a hanging offence, Sorry!

NO, I am sorry if I sounded touchy, hanging unnecessary... I was intending to post ( in no particular order of merit)
Musikverein, Vienna,
Boston Symphony Hall,
Carnegie Hall, New York,
Suntory Hall, Tokyo,
The Rodolfinium, Prague
Bratislava Hall ( oldish - I forget its name)
Utrecht Hall ( newish, again I've forgotten its name)

but then I re-read the OP.
NB Unfortunately I can't give my opinion of those halls as I listener as I have never sat in the audience. However, over about a 45-year period I have been lucky enough to play in various orchestras in those halls and they are all in a different universe from London's utterly mediocre 'concert halls'.

[Roehre]

I stick to the concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Musikverein in Vienna.
Mentioning Vredenburg in Utrecht is a nice one, btw, Waldhorn (I was present at its opening, in 1977 IIRC)

[Flosshilde]

I don't have the breadth of experience (nor the memory) of some posters, but of the two halls in Glasgow the 'Grand Hall' (silly name - it's actually quite intimate in feeling) in the City Halls is best by several (hundred) miles. I don't think there's a bad seat in the house, & I've heard everything from a quartet to a Mahler - & Wagner - sized orchestra there, all sounding equally good.

[Tony Halstead]

I stick to the concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Musikverein in Vienna.
Mentioning Vredenburg in Utrecht is a nice one, btw, Waldhorn (I was present at its opening, in 1977 IIRC)

Thanks, Roehre for reminding me of the name of the Vredenburg, Utrecht; I hadn't realised it was that old!
I left out the Concertgebouw, because, however wonderful it is as an 'audience experience' it has always given me the 'jitters' as a player.
Although I have to say that, about 20 years ago playing a concerto there, the 'long walk' down the publicly visible carpeted staircase onto the stage was much more stressful than playing the piece!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

1. Victoria Hall, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
2. The Sage, Gateshead
3. Free Trade Hall, Manchester - unfairly maligned because the bar was too cramped!