RTX18WO3.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's new music hall has been opened to the public and immediately received plaudits for its architecture and acoustics, China Daily reported.
The hall opened in September, with the debut performance delivered by the acclaimed Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, CCTV said.
The 33-year-old Dudamel likened the hall to a valuable and distinctive Stradivarius violin. Referring to the wonderful acoustics of the hall, he said that the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra will be able to "develop a sound, a personality, a soul."
The music hall is the product of the collaborative work between Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota and renowned architect Arata Isozaki. Like Dudamel, Isozaki likened the venue to an instrument, during an earlier soft opening.
"We were not building a house but making a musical instrument," said Isozaki.
Toyota, meanwhile, said that "every seat is a golden seat," pertaining to the even quality of sound throughout the audience sections, which can accommodate 1,200 people in the main concert hall and 400 more in the chamber hall.
Since the music hall is located near Metro Line 10, Toyota and Isozaki built the hall on 300 base isolators in order cut off noise. Referred to as the "floating building," it is the first such structure in China to sit on top of giant steel springs.
Although the music hall is new, its resident Shanghai Symphony Orchestra has been around since 1879. It was known in the early 1900s as "the greatest orchestra in the Far East."
