Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Encyclopedia
The Royal Concert Hall in the English city of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
The Theatre Royal, Nottingham in Nottingham, England, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. The theatre is in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council...

. The Royal Concert Hall is owned by Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council is the non-metropolitan district council for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. The deputy leader of the...

 and its striking modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 has proved to be a city landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...

 right at the heart of Nottingham City Centre
Nottingham City Centre
Nottingham city centre is the cultural, commercial, financial and historical heart of Nottingham, England. Nottingham's city centre represents the central area of the Greater Nottingham conurbation....

, opposite the more recently built The Cornerhouse complex.

The site of the Royal Concert Hall was previously the old 'Empire Palace of Varieties' designed and built in 1898 by Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham was a famous English theatrical architect. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery.-Early career:...

. The Empire closed for the last time in 1958 and was demolished for road-widening in 1969.

Designed by the Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership (architects of the Sheffield Crucible Theatre), the hall cost £12 million to complete. The project's client was Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council is the non-metropolitan district council for the unitary authority of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire. It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards, elected every four years. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. The deputy leader of the...

, who were ambitious to win acclaim for their hall as a first-rate local, national and international venue for concerts and conferences.

Work on the Royal Concert Hall began in 1980 and was completed in 1982, providing Nottingham with a contemporary 2,499-seater, state-of-the-art, air-conditioned auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...

 complete with a highly versatile sound and lighting system. The first artist to perform there was Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 in November 1982.

The architecture of the Hall

"... the architects have attempted to keep before them a clear set of sculptural intentions. The development of the design has involved the production of some forty models and the overriding concern with the three-dimensional and fluid nature of the space has sought to give a new meaning to the old adage of architecture as 'frozen music'."

The acoustical design of the auditorium was created by reference to the standards of world-famous concert halls. An acoustical canopy (weighing 38 tonnes) can be raised and lowered and tilted backwards to suit the changing musical needs of each performance. At its lowest settings, the canopy suits intimate chamber music; higher settings suit louder performers.

The shimmering glass walls of the facade by day mirror the varied architecture nearby, acting as architectural 'sunglasses'. Whereas by night the effect of a display-case is created,those outside can see the audience inside dressed and assembling for their entertainment.

Notable artists

The Hall has become a leading venue on the worldwide touring circuit, regularly attracting world-class orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

s, rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

s, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 acts and solo artist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

s. The hall is also equipped for staging conferences and large meetings (for example in the late 1980s, it was the regular venue for BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...

's Annual General Meetings).

The most notable act to perform was the legendary Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...

, which performed from 10–15 April 2006.

When the Royal Concert Hall first opened, Nottingham City Council entertained the idea of launching a resident professional orchestra to complement such a prestigious new venue but decided against it. There is still strong support for the idea and it is hoped by many that it may yet become a reality.

External links

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