Climbing the heights of music

What seemed like a never-ending project has finally reached completion – Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. Much talked about from the outset, initially owing to its bold design, it was later the delays, cost increases and scandals that made headlines. But the result is tremendous, and the public are keen to see with their own eyes what the media fuss was all about. And Germany now has a lighthouse venue, placing it on the map of internationally famed architecture.  

Did Herzog & de Meuron have any idea of the implications of operating a concert hall at dizzy heights when they presented their winning design? It all started with an empty dockside warehouse: Kaispeicher A. Herzog & de Meuron’s design envisaged turning the warehouse into a car park supporting a concert hall, hotel, restaurants and luxury apartments. A public viewing platform linking the two parts of the complex and offering wonderful 360° views, dubbed the “plaza”, was incorporated to ensure it would also be populated during the day. The striking architecture contributes a powerful landmark to the cosmopolitan city, with its lively harbour and arts scene. 

When planning the concert hall, Herzog & de Meuron referred to the vine-terrace principle that Hans Scharoun developed for the Berlin Philharmonic. 15 years after presenting their first design, the architects’ dream has finally been realized. Reconciling form and function within a building complex where the key facilities are high above ground level called for inventiveness and flexibility on the parts of the planners and, later, the executing firms. 

Inaugurating the architecture: “Figure humaine”

Before the inaugural concert took place, the foyer and concert hall were filled with music and dance – the starting point of an artistic exploration of the premises by Sasha Waltz and Guests, in a dramaturgy by Jochen Sandig, with music by Vokalconsort Berlin and other musicians and singers. The audience followed the dancers and musicians steadily upwards, from staircase to staircase, foyer to foyer. In this way, six floors were ‘house-warmed’, with views of the city outside glimpsed along the way as well as enticing insights into other parts of the building. After the rousing piece “Liberté”, marking an upbeat finale to the “Figure humaine”, the dancers mingled with the choir as the audience applauded enthusiastically.                  

The opening

The official opening on 11 January was broadcast live on television and as a live stream online – the climax of a media campaign to popularize this unique building. Musical director Thomas Hengelbrock was intent on proving his orchestra (now the NDR-Elbphilharmonie Orchester) worthy of its new home and showcasing the fantastic acoustics in the concert hall. A mammoth programme, interrupted by only one interval, featured a diverse cross-section of European music through the centuries. The finishing flourish was provided by – what else? – Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, and the exhausted but happy orchestra could finally regard its new home as opened. 

Up to the concert hall

Ascending further, the concert hall greeted the visitors with its famed robe of grey, individually milled gypsum fiberboards, and all 2100 seats occupied. Here, too, the architectural waves on the exterior are continued in the interior. The public is seated around the tiered orchestra platform; the hall’s upward incline resembles an arena more than a vineyard. Much has already been written about the mighty ceiling unit, known as the canopy, which the internationally renowned acoustics specialist Yasushi Toyota designed with his team at Nagata Acoustics. 

Making the hall ring with sound

The concert was part of the opening festival with which the Elbphilharmonie hopes to make its mark on the international music scene. Many soloists and orchestras from Germany and abroad are scheduled to make guest appearances. Currently the Vienna Philharmonic under Russian conductor Semyon Bychkov are guesting. 

The many members of the orchestra took their places and were given a warm welcome from the audience.  The musically nuanced and emotional Symphony No. 1D Tristan was particularly enthusiastically received. From the pianissimo of the 16 violins and soft strains of the piccolo flutes and clarinets at the beginning to the fortissimo of the crescendo, the orchestra kept up the suspense, and the musicians obviously enjoyed the experience of playing in the new venue. 

Handover to the users

Not only the concert hall but also the smaller hall and the studios needed to be fitted and equipped for the many ambitious events on the programme. A report in a later issue of BTR will look into the technology installed and how the users plan to run the venue efficiently on a permanent, well-structured basis. The architecture, with special regard to concert operations, will also be profiled in detail in a later issue of BTR.