# Paris Philharmonie opens



## papsrus

And apparently, while not finished, it's a success (at least according to this NYT critic).

LINK.

One night, so obviously more tinkering to come with the acoustics, but apparently the orchestra gave the place a pretty good workout, judging by the program.


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## Vaneyes

Thanks for this, papsrus. My wife and I visited that area last October for Les Arts Florissants/Christie concert--Cite de la Musique concert hall (seats 800 - 1000). Philharmonie de Paris is nearby. Metro with connection from our Latin Quarter hotel took about 30 minutes. A great boost/opportunity for the Arts, this latest addition. I trust Parisians will see it that way. Wishing the best.:tiphat:

NYT Tommasini's was a fair and informative review. I'm all for getting this baby on the road. Work-in-progress is not new to CM. Let it roll, while making adjustments along the way.

Bang Bang's there on the weekend. Here's hoping he doesn't knock anything loose.

Related:

Architect Jean Nouvel boycotts opening.
http://www.dezeen.com/2015/01/14/jean-nouvel-boycotts-opening-of-philharmonie-de-paris-concert-hall/

A blog's comments on hall.
https://marshallmarcus.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/ce-soir-nous-sommes-tous-la-philharmonie/

Guardian Service's opinion.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/to...onie-de-paris-new-musical-social-future-paris

Audio report from NPR.

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/15/37738...s-orchestra-honors-last-week-s-terror-victims


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## papsrus

Thanks for those additional reviews. Sounds like it will be an amazing hall. 

Too bad the architect wasn't there to hear the results.


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## omega

For those who are interested, all the opening concerts will be live broadcast at this adress:
Arte Concert


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## pianississimo

I'm going to Paris in May for a concert at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. I've had to extend my stay to 4 nights because of flights and things (damn!) So I might look to see what's on.


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## Vaneyes

omega said:


> For those who are interested, all the opening concerts will be live broadcast at this adress:
> Arte Concert


Thanks, but that website is not cooperating with my Firefox browser and Flash plugin.

Found this 6:40 segment at YT--Bang Bang rehearsing with OdP/P. Jarvi for a weekend concert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-GhS_YO8-Z0#t=31


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## Vaneyes

pianississimo said:


> I'm going to Paris in May for a concert at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. I've had to extend my stay to 4 nights because of flights and things (damn!) So I might look to see what's on.


This website (linked) may be helpful. Suggestion: If interested in an event, compare this website's ticket prices with the venue's seat selection and ticket prices.

http://www.classictic.com/en/search...onth=2015-05&until_day=31&until_month=2015-05


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## Triplets

NPR had an interesting story aout it today.


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## Vaneyes

I'm surprised that Paris Philharmonie has already made someone's "10 best concert halls" list.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/mar/05/10-worlds-best-concert-halls-berlin-boston-tokyo


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## papsrus

Vaneyes said:


> I'm surprised that Paris Philharmonie has already made someone's "10 best concert halls" list.
> 
> http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/mar/05/10-worlds-best-concert-halls-berlin-boston-tokyo


That's a Londoner's list and perhaps included as a little prodding of the powers that be?


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## arturs86

I was there last week when Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Jarvi played there. The hall is great indeed. It doesn't have a superb-long reverb etc., but it's remarkable how natural and rich the orchestra sounds there. I love it. If you are buying tickets, I recommend the first balcony where everything seems to be more balanced. 2nd balcony also have it's own advantages - sound is more united, but sounds a tiny bit far. It still gives an particularly special feel. I did notice that down in the hall the balance between different orchestra groups are not the best. But I want to admit that we are talking about very small details here. It sounds. And it does it fantastic. If only you have chance to be there - do it. Make sure to buy tickets early - best concerts are sold out a long time before the event.


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## pianississimo

I took advantage of the exchange rate and picked up a ticket for Barenboim playing Schubert sonatas there while I'm in Paris in May. It's a good seat. There's always the odd seat available which get left behind because not many people go on their own to concerts. Lucky for me it's a few rows back on the keyboard side of centre so I should get a great view as well as fantastic sound. Can't wait


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## Vaneyes

Alex Ross writes of his recent visit to Paris Philharmonie.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/20/surround-sound?intcid=mod-yml


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## Albert7

papsrus said:


> And apparently, while not finished, it's a success (at least according to this NYT critic).
> 
> LINK.
> 
> One night, so obviously more tinkering to come with the acoustics, but apparently the orchestra gave the place a pretty good workout, judging by the program.


At least it's not Avery Fisher Hall in Paris .


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## pianississimo

I visited the new hall and I have mixed feelings about it. I like modern halls. I love Symphony Hall in Birmingham and the Sage in Gateshead is awesome inside and out. I love old halls but appreciate modern facilities usually offered in a newer hall.
The Phiharmonie however is not in the same league as Sage. Outside it resembles a squashed tin can. Close up you can see that a lot of the metallic panels are still missing from some areas.
An escalator takes you from the ground up to the entrance level and as you look up to where you are going you see the ceiling is covered in metal spikes, so it looks like you are going to be impaled on a huge upside down bed of nails!
Not a fantastic start!!!
Once inside, there is one bar that I could find. There was no seating and there were no tables or surfaces of any kind except for the floor.
Someone had placed a couple of cardboard boxes along the walls as litter bins.
The toilets were modern but not plentiful. The hall was full and so there were queues.
The ceiling of the bar area was covered in metal ribbons which looked quite nice but I was getting tired of all the metal.
The wall to outside was floor to ceiling glass and you could see the trees along the side of the building.
Before all that was the ugly concrete roof of the floor below and a view of the parts of the building not yet covered in panels.

Inside the hall is like a hollowed ice-cream to look at. Impressive size and it must have been an amazing view from the top. 
I was in the stalls and had a great view of the stage.
The choir area was bigger than most I've seen and raised quite a way away from the stage so that if it were used by a choir, they would tower over the orchestra. That would be impressive to hear and see I'm sure.

Daniel Barenboim can make a big sound but this was Schubert and he's sometimes quiet. 
The Paris audience were not very quiet though and every single sound echoed around the hall.
A woman along from me opened a sweet (hanging offence) and people all around looked over angrily. It did sound like gunfire crackling out! At the end of every movement was a cacophony of coughing (a cough-cophony?) and sniffing which sounded VERY loud.
The recital was amazing. Barenboim brings out the fiery passion and sweet sadness of Schubert and I loved his pacing of the sonatas. I've ordered his new recording of Schubert based on this performance.
After the interval (a LOT of people were late back!) He started to close the spaces between movements and was playing through them altogether by the end. He was obviously bothered by the coughing which interrupted the opening of each movement and made savouring the previous one impossible.
He made his bows and thanked the audience, walking round the stage waving to people. He came back for more bows but when the audience stomped and slow-clapped their demands for an encore, he walked up to the piano and firmly closed the lid! Can't say I blamed him!!

I'm hearing the same recital in London this weekend at the Royal Festival Hall in London with it's notoriously flat acoustics. I think it will be better. I've heard recitals there before and I think the smaller acoustic makes for a more intimate sound that you need for a recital - especially in a big space.
I would like to hear a really big orchestra at Philharmonie de Paris. I bet the sound would be wonderful. They should give out free cough sweets though as they do in Liverpool!!

Two days later I was in the totally different surroundings of the utterly beautiful Theatre de Champs Elysees. Big velvet chairs and wood everywhere gives this a really warm sound which wraps around you and envelops you in it's honeyed, woody richness.
It did help that this was cello sonatas, and that it was Rachmaninov!! Couldn't have been a bigger contrast!!

The Cite de Musique is wonderful too. They have a fantastic music museum and a music shop.


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## papsrus

pianississimo said:


> (...)
> 
> Daniel Barenboim can make a big sound but this was Schubert and he's sometimes quiet.
> The Paris audience were not very quiet though and every single sound echoed around the hall.
> 
> (...)
> 
> I'm hearing the same recital in London this weekend at the Royal Festival Hall in London with it's notoriously flat acoustics. I think it will be better. I've heard recitals there before and I think the smaller acoustic makes for a more intimate sound that you need for a recital - especially in a big space.


I sometimes wonder if they are making modern halls _too_ acoustically sensitive.

On Royal Festival, I read somewhere they have outfitted the hall with one of those so-called electronic enhancement systems, where better balance from the orchestra is supposedly achieved through the discrete placement of speakers around the hall. (gasp)



pianississimo said:


> ...They should give out free cough sweets though as they do in Liverpool!!


They do this at Carnegie Hall also. It's a good idea.



pianississimo said:


> Two days later I was in the totally different surroundings of the utterly beautiful Theatre de Champs Elysees. Big velvet chairs and wood everywhere gives this a really warm sound which wraps around you and envelops you in it's honeyed, woody richness.
> It did help that this was cello sonatas, and that it was Rachmaninov!! Couldn't have been a bigger contrast!!


As with the first observation above, a warmer hall, even a hall with a dry acoustic may sometimes be preferable to one of these super sensitive halls where, yeah, you can hear a pin drop. But the down side is, you can hear a pin drop.


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