The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building". Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the three finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston's Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.^[1] For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Acoustic transmission be merged into this article or section. ... A Concert hall is a cultural building, which serves as performance venue, chiefly for classical instrumental music. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts is widely considered to be one of the two or three finest concert halls in the world, alongside Amsterdams Concertgebouw and Viennas Grosser Musikvereinssaal. ... Musikverein, 2004 The Musikverein in Vienna, Austria was opened on January 6, 1870, and is famous for its acoustics. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ...

Concertgebouw

The Concertgebouw in 1902

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History

The architect of the building was Adolf Leonard van Gendt, who was inspired by the Neue Gewandhaus in Leipzig, built two years earlier (and destroyed in 1943). Construction began in 1883 in a pasture that was then outside the city, in Amstelveen. 2,186 piles twelve to thirteen meters (forty to forty-three feet) in length were sunk into the soil. The hall opened on April 11, 1888, with an inaugural concert in which an orchestra of 120 musicians and a chorus of 500 singers participated, performing works of Wagner, Handel, Bach, and Beethoven. The resident orchestra of the Concertgebouw is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest), which gave its first concert in the hall on 3 November 1888, as the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Concertgebouworkest). Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... Amstelveen is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the toll-free telephone number see Toll-free telephone number Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... “Handel” redirects here. ... “Bach” redirects here. ... “Beethoven” redirects here. ... The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Dutch: Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, KCO) is the best-known and most respected symphonic orchestra in the Netherlands, and is generally considered to be among the worlds finest orchestras. ...

The Grote Zaal ("big hall") seats 2037, and is 44 meters (144 feet) long, 28 meters (92 feet) wide, and 17 meters (56 feet) high. Its reverberation time is 2.8 seconds without audience, 2.2 seconds with, making it ideal for the late Romantic repertoire such as Mahler. Though this characteristic makes it largely unsuited for amplified music, groups such as The Who and Pink Floyd performed there in the 1960s. In addition to orchestras, jazz and world music groups perform in the Grote Zaal. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into reverberation. ... “Mahler” redirects here. ... The Who are an English rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

A smaller, oval-shaped venue, the Kleine Zaal ("Small Hall"), is located behind the main hall. The Kleine Zaal is 20 meters (66 feet) long and 15 meters (50 feet) wide. Its more intimate space is well-suited for chamber music and lieder. The Kleine Zaal has 478 seats. Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano. ...

When the Concertgebouw was built, acoustics were something of a black art. As in shipbuilding, designers drew upon what had worked in the past without entirely understanding the underlying science (and even today it is still not well understood). When the building was completed, the acoustics were not perfect, and a lot of effort went into fine-tuning the aural ambience. During later restorations, particular care has been taken not to alter the materials used for interior decoration with this in mind. In the 1980's, the hall embarked on extensive fund-raising for renovations after the hall was found to be slowly sinking into the ground. Pi De Bruijn was the architect for the contemporary annex to the original hall.^[2] It has been suggested that Acoustic transmission be merged into this article or section. ...

Today, some eight hundred concerts per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of 850,000, making it the most-visited concert hall in the world. One of the highlights of Concertgebouw season is the annual New Year's Concert by the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble (Netherlands Wind Ensemble), a fresh, contemporary answer to the traditional Vienna Waltzfest. Insert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text here The Nederlands Blazers Ensemble (Netherlands Wind Ensemble, NBE) comprises musicians from all the major Dutch symphony orchestras. ...

Names of composers in the Grote Zaal

In the Grote Zaal, the family names of a number of classical music composers are displayed on the balcony ledges. These composers include the following:

Bernard Zweers (born Bernardus Josephus Wilhelmus Zweers) (Amsterdam, May 18, 1854 - December 9, 1924) was a Dutch composer and music teacher. ... “Bruckner” redirects here. ... “Mahler” redirects here. ... César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck (December 10, 1822 – November 8, 1890), a composer, organist and music teacher of Belgian origin who lived in France, was one of the great figures in classical music in the second half of the 19th century. ... Alphonsus Johannes Maria Diepenbrock (September 2, 1862 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands - April 5, 1921) was a Dutch composer, essayist and classicist. ... Claude Debussy, photo by Félix Nadar, 1908. ... Cornelis [Kees] Dopper (February 7, 1870–1939) was a Dutch composer, conductor and teacher. ... This article is about the German composer of tone-poems and operas. ... Julius Röntgen (b. ... B la Bart k (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a composer, pianist and collector of East European folk music. ... Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer of Romantic music, who employed the idioms and melodies of the folk music of his native Bohemiaand Moravia in symphonic, oratorial, chamber and operatic works. ... “Handel” redirects here. ... Jean-Baptiste de Lully, originally Giovanni Battista di Lulli (November 28, 1632 – March 22, 1687), was an Italian-born French composer, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. ... Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (October 26, 1685 – July 23, 1757) was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in Spain and Portugal. ... “Mozart” redirects here. ... Portrait of Luigi Cherubini. ... Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr von Weber (November 18, 1786 in Eutin, Holstein – June 5, 1826 in London, England) was a German composer, conductor, pianist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school. ... Painting of Berlioz by Gustave Courbet, 1850. ... Frédéric-François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ... “Liszt” redirects here. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... Charles Gounod. ... Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (born June 23, 1824 in Hamburg, Germany; died March 10, 1910 in Leipzig, Germany), musician. ... Jacob Obrecht Jacob Obrecht (November 22, 1458 – late July, 1505) was a Dutch composer of the Renaissance. ... One of the two surviving portraits of Sweelinck, this one dates from 1606. ... Orlande de Lassus, a. ... Jacobus Clemens non Papa (also Jacques Clément or Jacob Clemens non Papa) (c. ... “Tchaikovsky” redirects here. ... Igor Stravinsky. ... Johan Wagenaar (1862 - 1941) was a Dutch composer and organist. ... Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (March 19, 1873 – May 11, 1916) was a German composer, organist, pianist and teacher. ... Maurice Ravel. ... Biography Willem Pijper (1894–1947) is generally considered the most important figure in modern Dutch music. ... Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer. ... Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer and conductor of the early Romantic period. ... For others with the same name see Robert Schumann (disambiguation). ... Johannes Joseph Hermann Verhulst (The Hague, March 19, 1816 - Bloemendaal, January 17, 1891) was a Dutch composer and conductor. ... Niels Wilhelm Gade (February 22, 1817 - December 21, 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. ... Rubinsteins portrait by Ilya Repin. ... Self-portrait of Spohr as a young man. ... “Beethoven” redirects here. ... Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of the Romantic period. ... “Haydn” redirects here. ... “Bach” redirects here. ...

See also

• Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
• History of Amsterdam
• List of major concert halls

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Dutch: Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, KCO) is the best-known and most respected symphonic orchestra in the Netherlands, and is generally considered to be among the worlds finest orchestras. ... Amsterdam circa 1544, before the semi-circular ring of canals was added. ... A Concert hall is a cultural building, which serves as performance venue, chiefly for classical instrumental music. ...

References

1. ^ Tapio Lahti and Henrik Möller. Concert Hall Acoustics and the Computer. ARK -The Finnish Architectural Review.
2. ^ Paul L. Montgomery. "Dutch Hail Concertgebouw's 100th", New York Times, 13 April 1988. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Concertgebouw

• Concertgebouw website
• Images from the Concertgebouw
• Amsterdam Tourist Attractions

• Maps and aerial photos for 52°21′22″N 4°52′46″E / 52.356223, 4.879517Coordinates: 52°21′22″N 4°52′46″E / 52.356223, 4.879517
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