Hamburg’s new hall is 20 times oversubscribed

Hamburg’s new hall is 20 times oversubscribed

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norman lebrecht

January 09, 2018

Annual results are in for the first year of the Elbphilharmonie and they make pretty good reading.

A planned half-million deficit has turned into a surplus of 374,000 euros. Some 4.5 million people have visited the site. Tickets are in high demand.

One stat: for some concerts, the demand is more than 20 times higher than the number of seats available.

Comments

  • John Borstlap says:

    So, this will save classical music: more bigger halls at unsuited locations, more futuristic architecture, more budget scandals, so that audiences won’t notice the museum glass box.

    It reminds me of certain wedding types: the more investment in the celebration packages, the more chance the marriage won’t last.

  • Petros Linardos says:

    How does that compare to other new halls? E.g. Disney in LA?

    • Simone Candotto says:

      I the last 30 years I had the chance and luck to play in most famous oncert Halls around the world (missing Africa and Oceania) and honestly I never had a so pure response from the acustic phenomenon as in the Elbphilharmonie.

      For the musitians it is a great challenge to play every time at his own limits, because you hear really everything. Also from the audience you hear everything, and the audiences has ti be re-educated, because you can not open a candy pack or brutal coughingin in a pianissimo passage.

      Anyway, the world is nice because is different, and we all ways will have discordant opinions.

      If you like something go ahead and enjoy it, and do not let you bother from non constructive critics.

      Best of luck and greetings from Hamburg.

      Simone Candotto

  • Dr Presume says:

    Clearly a lot of people are buying tickets to *anything* in order to experience the hall – e.g. a performance this coming May of Sorabji’s nine-hour Organ Symphony No. 2 has sold out well in advance, when Sorabji performances often struggle to get an audience into double figures, let alone four figures.

    It’ll be interesting to see how that oversubscription looks into the hall’s second year!

  • Simone says:

    Scusi?
    Ci ha mai suonato dentro?
    Rispetto la sua opinione ma suonandoci dentro quasi ogni settimana devo dire che l’acustica sia x i musicisti che per il pubblico (ho ascoltato vari concerti all’interno) è ottima e molto fedele. Questo é uno stimolo in più pwr noi a suonare sempre al meglio. Cordiali saluti da Hamburg.

    Simone Candotto

  • Pedro says:

    I look forward to go there for the first time on March 11 for the Deutsches Requiem by the SOBR and Haitink. Got tickets through a lottery managed by the box office.

    • Jaybuyer says:

      And I joined the lottery for 3 concerts and ‘bingo’ – I was successful for one: Bayerisches Staatsorchester with Petrenko doing the ‘flawed masterpiece’ Manfred by Tchaikovsky the week before Easter. I couldn’t give a flying f*** what the ‘experts’ say about the acoustics!

  • Holger Klein says:

    As a born Hamburger (and now Canadian) I am so proud of this accomplishment!

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