Mutter renews push for Munich hall

Mutter renews push for Munich hall

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

February 07, 2023

Munich’s #1 citizen Anne-Sophie Mutter has issued a fresh blast against the Bavarian Government for failing to honour its pledge to build a new concert hall.

The temporary Isarphilharmonie is, she says, inadequate acoustically and in terms of musician and audience comfort.

She says: ‘We’re back to the hall and the urgent need to build a ‘Stradivarius’ for this great orchestra. The Isarphilharmonie just can’t do that. I can now only speak and report from the point of view of the soloist. The soloist’s dressing room is around six square meters, there’s not even a normal piano in there. I don’t know how a great pianist can go out and start a concert with Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov or whatever. Where is he warming up? Then there’s a conductor’s wardrobe – that’s pretty much it. Other rooms, halfway between a toilet and the basement, are where thousands of orchestra colleagues somehow and at some point can change their clothes … What I criticize is the way of thinking of the politicians, who think that because the hall sounds good, it is now off the agenda. But that’s not the case. Nothing has actually changed for the better for the musicians.’

Comments

  • bare truth says:

    Anne-Sophie,

    are you going to pay for this Stradivarius hall of yours?

    Oh … no? Then, shut up please.

    • catherine says:

      Just without the please, please.

      She’s so out of touch with the real world. Classical musis is dying and she demands a bigger wardrobe and more amenities, with the compliments of tax payers.

      • Jennifer Dyster says:

        Classical music has found its way back from serialism and minimalism has discovered women and indigenous composers and partners with dance acrobatics visualarts and other genres of music.

    • Hilde says:

      Jammer dat de klassieke muziek stiefmoederlijk wordt bedeeld.Door de weinige media aandacht hiervoor is ons publiek een pak kleiner en worden we niet voor ‘vol’ aanzien in tegenstelling tot de Beyoncé ‘s en anderen van deze tijd waarvoor de rode loper(s) en enorm goed geaccomodeerde zalen wel worden uitgerold…..

    • Jennifer Dyster says:

      Oh really? How rude. And shortsighted. A good concert hall is a tourist attraction a source of civic pride an inspiration

  • reader says:

    Note that she does not say that the hall is inadequate acoustically.
    She actually say that the “hall sounds good”. What she criticizes is the notion that this is enough, emphasizing that the nature of this hall (design and built to be a temporary venue, thus lacking the high standards of amenities for orchestra that one would expect from their resident hall) does not make it suitable as a permanent replacement or fix.

  • Gustavo says:

    Then came the earth quake, and all was forgotten.

  • Gustavo says:

    I’ve been to the Elphi, the Musikverein, and La Scala and found the guest toilets shockingly undersized.

  • Hugo Preuß says:

    With all due respect: “Munich’s #1 citizen” is the Lord Mayor of the city. Mme. Mutter is a musician (and a damn fine one). Lets keep some perspective.

  • Gustavo says:

    BR-Klassik reported today that ASM is getting shit-stormed, at least in Bavaria, for seemingly unjustified complaints.

    Now why is that?

    She mentioned the Elphi in Hamburg as a positive example for a building project that costed a bomb but eventually brought happiness and prosperity to the city.

    Something like that gnaws at the pride of the Munichs, who always have to be the best, like in football or with cars, but occasionally their lederhosen show through and even a so-called “Denkpause” is nicely talked about.

    If there is something these know-it-alls can’t stand, then it’s when the Hanseatic people get something right (except for the acoustics…ja, ja, Herr Kaufmann).

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