List of concert halls

A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage which serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. While early halls built in the 18th and 19th century were designed for classical orchestra, concerto and opera concerts and ballet performances, halls built in the 20th and 21st century were often built to accommodate a wider range of performance types, including musicals. In the 2010s, popular music such as rock music and traditional music such as folk music are also performed in these venues. Many concert halls exist as one of several halls or performance spaces within a larger performing arts center. In many towns, the concert hall is combined with a convention center. Concert halls typically also contain orchestral rehearsal rooms. Many larger cities have both public and private concert halls. Particularly in smaller cities with fewer alternative venues, concert halls may also be used to accommodate other activities, from theatrical performances to academic presentations and university graduation ceremonies.

Oslo Concert Hall

Oslo Concert Hall (Oslo Konserthus) is a concert hall located in Vika, a part of Oslo city centre in Norway. It is the base of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (Oslo-Filharmonien), but it also aims to be one of the premier music venues for the general musical and cultural life of Norway, offering a broad variety of musical styles from classical, world music, and popular entertainment by both Norwegian and international artists and groups. It presents more than 300 events yearly and receives more than 200,000 visitors.

History

For a long time, Oslo lacked a proper concert hall, and the Oslo Philharmonic did not have a regular hall for their rehearsals. Sometimes the rehearsals could be on different locations every day through the same project.

Construction

After decades of debate and delay, an architectal competition was arranged in 1955 and final drafts for the concert hall were presented in 1965, based on Gösta Åbergh’s winning proposal. Oslo Konserthus AS was founded in October 1966 and, on 22 March 1977, the concert hall was finally opened. In September the same year, a specially build organ (with 7000 pipes) from Göttingen, Germany was installed. It was the largest organ in Norway until 2014.

Oslo

Oslo (English pronunciation: /ˈɒzloʊ/, OZ-loh,Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈuʂˈlu]  ( listen) or, rarer [ˈusˈlu] or [ˈuʂlu]) is the capital and the most populous city in Norway.

Oslo constitutes both a county and a municipality. Founded in the year 1040, and established as a "kaupstad" or trading place in 1048 by King Harald III, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 and with Sweden from 1814 to 1905 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of King Christian IV and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. Following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored.

Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.

Oslo Philharmonic

The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra was founded in 1919, and has since 1977 had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1 pianist. The orchestra gives an average of sixty to seventy symphonic concerts annually, the majority of which are broadcast nationally on the radio. The orchestra also performs chamber concerts frequently throughout the year.

History

The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra's roots go back to 1879, when Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen founded the Christiania Musikerforening (Christiania Musical Association), as a successor of The Philharmonic Society (Det Philharmoniske Selskab, 1847).

The orchestra was later conducted by Ole Olsen, Johan Selmer, Iver Holter and Otto Winter-Hjelm. Under Holter, the orchestra was merged with the Christiania Theatre Orchestra, which was on the verge of reductions. Holter suggested the founding of a city orchestra which could play at municipal festivities, concerts and in the theatre, and as a result of this, the orchestra gained municipal support from 1889.

Orchestra

An orchestra (/ˈɔːrkᵻstrə/ or US /ˈɔːrˌkɛstrə/; Italian: [orˈkɛstra]) is a large instrumental ensemble used in classical music that contains sections of string (violin, viola, cello and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes be grouped into a fifth section such as a keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for 20th and 21st century compositions, electric and electronic instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ὀρχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus. The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century.