Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

Royal Concert Hall
Koninklijk Concertgebouw
Location in Amsterdam
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeConcert hall
Architectural styleNeoclassical
LocationMuseumplein, Concertgebouwplein 10
1071 LN Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Coordinates52°21′23″N 4°52′45″E / 52.3563°N 4.8791°E / 52.3563; 4.8791
Current tenantsRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Construction started1883
CompletedLate 1886
Opened11 April 1888
RenovatedJuly 1985 – April 1988
Cost300,000 Dutch guilders[1]
OwnerHet Concertgebouw N.V. (privately owned)
Design and construction
ArchitectAdolf Leonard van Gendt
DesignationsProtected monument
Renovating team
ArchitectPi de Bruijn
Other information
Seating typeTheatre
Seating capacity1,974 (Main Hall)
437 (Recital Hall)
150 (Choir Hall)[2]
Website
Official website

The Royal Concertgebouw (Dutch: het Koninklijk Concertgebouw, pronounced [ət ˈkoːnɪŋklə kɔnˈsɛrtxəˌbʌu]) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world, along with New York's Carnegie Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall[3][4] and the Musikverein in Vienna.[5][6]

In celebration of the building's 125th anniversary, Queen Beatrix bestowed the royal title "Koninklijk" upon the building on 11 April 2013, as she had on the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra upon its 100th in 1988.[7]

History

The architect of the building was Adolf Leonard van Gendt,[8] who was inspired by the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, built two years earlier (and destroyed in 1943).[9][10]

Construction began in 1883 in a pasture that was then outside the city,[11][12] in Nieuwer-Amstel, a municipality that in 1964 became Amstelveen. A total of 2,186 wooden piles, 12 to 13 metres (40 to 43 ft) long, were emplaced in the soil.[13] The Concertgebouw was completed in late 1886, however due to the difficulties with the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel – filling in a small canal, paving the access roads and installing street lights – the grand opening of the building was delayed.[1]

The hall opened on 11 April 1888 with an inaugural concert, in which an orchestra of 120 musicians and a chorus of 500 singers participated, performing works of Wagner, Handel, Bach, and Beethoven. The resident orchestra of the Concertgebouw is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest), which gave its first concert in the hall on 3 November 1888, as the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Concertgebouworkest). For many decades from the 1950s to the present day the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (previously the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra) as well as the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest also provide their regular concert series in the Concertgebouw.

Today, some 900 concerts and other events per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of over 700,000, making it one of the most-visited concert halls in the world.[14]

As of February 2014, the managing director of the Concertgebouw is Simon Reinink and the artistic director is Anneke Hogenstijn.[15]

Controversies

The 2025 Hanukkah concert at the Concertgebouw was cancelled over Shai Abramson’s status as the lead cantor of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).[16] The Concertgebouw requested the organizers to replace what they saw as “a visible representative” of the IDF, which the hall's leadership stated “is actively involved in a controversial war”. The Chanukah Concert Foundation, which arranged the concert, came to a compromise with Concertgebouw and the concert was rescheduled as part of an afternoon-evening schedule that would combine a public show in the afternoon conducted by Jules van Hessen. There would be a private concert for already purchased tickets to see Abramson perform afterwards.[17]

Building

The Main Hall (Grote Zaal) seats 1,974,[2] and is 44 metres (144 feet) long, 28 metres (92 feet) wide, and 17 metres (56 feet) high.[18] Its reverberation time is 2.8 seconds without audience, 2.2 seconds with, making it ideal for the late Romantic repertoire such as Mahler. Although this characteristic makes it largely unsuited for amplified music, groups such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Who did perform there in the 1960s. In the Main Hall, there is a layer of dust in several places as removing this layer would impact the acoustics as they are now.[19]

A smaller, oval-shaped venue, the Recital Hall (Kleine Zaal), is located behind the Main Hall. The Recital Hall is 20 metres (66 feet) long and 15 metres (49 feet) wide.[18] Its more intimate space is well-suited for chamber music and Lieder. The Recital Hall has 437 seats.[2]

In 1983, the Concertgebouw was found to be sinking into the damp Amsterdam earth, with several inch-wide cracks appearing in the walls, so the hall embarked on extensive fundraising for renovations. Its difficult emergency restoration started in 1985, during which the 2,186 rotting wooden pilings were replaced with concrete pillars. Dutch architect Pi de Bruijn designed a modern annex for a new entrance and a basement to replace cramped dressing and rehearsal space.[13]

  • Concertgebouw in 1902, by Jacob Olie
  • East side before its restoration in 1985
  • East side with the new entrance

Organ

The organ was built in 1890 by the organ builder Michaël Maarschalkerweerd from Utrecht, and was renovated in the years 1990 to 1993 by the organ builder Flentrop. It has 60 registers on three divisions and pedal.[20]

I Hauptwerk C–g3
Prestant 16’
Bourdon 16’
Prestant 8’
Bourdon 8’
Flûte harmonique 8’
Violoncello 8’
Prestant 4’
Flûte octaviante 4’
Quint harm. 22/3’
Quint 22/3’
Octav harm. 2’
Octav 2’
Terz harm. 13/5’
Mixtur IV–VI
Mixtur III–IV
Cornet V 8’
Bariton 16’
Trompet harm. 8’
Trompet 8’
Trompet 4’
II Schwellwerk C–g3
Quintadeen 16’
Flûte harm. 8’
Hohlflöte 8’
Viola di Gamba 8’
Voix Céleste 8’
Flûte octaviante 4’
Quint 22/3’
Flageolet harm. 2’
Terz 13/5’
Piccolo 1’
Plein-jeu harm. IV-VI
Bombarde 16’
Trompet 8’
Basson-Hobo 8’
Vox humana 8’
Trompet harm. 4’
Tremulant
III Schwell-Positiv C–g3
Zachtgedekt 16’
Prestant 8’
Rohrflöte 8’
Salicional 8’
Unda Maris 8’
Octav 4’
Fluit-dolce 4’
Violine 4’
Waldflöte 2’
Maarschalkje 11/3’
Mixtur II–V
Trompet harm. 8’
Klarinet 8’
Tremulant
Pedalwerk C–g1
Gedeckt Subbas 32’
Prinzipalbass 16’
Subbass 16’
Violon 16’
Quintbass 102/3’
Flöte 8’
Violoncello 8’
Corni-dolce 4’
Basson 16’
Trombone 8’
Trompet 4’
  • Couplers: II/I (also as Suboktavkoppel), III/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, III/P

Names of composers in the Main Hall

In the Main Hall, the surnames of the following 46 composers are displayed on the balcony ledges and on the walls:[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "History of the building". Official website of the Concertgebouw. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Concerts". Concertgebouw NV. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  3. ^ Long, Tony (11 April 2012). "April 11, 1888: Concertgebouw, Home of Nearly Perfect Acoustics, Opens". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  4. ^ R. W. Apple, Jr., Apple's America (North Point Press, 2005), ISBN 0-86547-685-3.
  5. ^ Tapio Lahti and Henrik Möller. "Concert Hall Acoustics and the Computer". ARK – The Finnish Architectural Review. Archived from the original on 22 March 2007.
  6. ^ Gerrit Petersen; Steven Ledbetter & Kimberly Alexander Shilland (26 June 1998). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Symphony Hall" (PDF). National Park Service. p. 4. Retrieved 12 April 2020. Symphony Hall remains, acoustically, among the top three concert halls in the world (sharing this distinction with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Vienna's Musikvereinsaal)
  7. ^ "Koninklijke status voor Concertgebouw". Het Concertgebouw (in Dutch). 10 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Van Baerlestraat 98, 1071 BB te Amsterdam". Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Famous acoustics: The secret of the Main Hall". The Concertgebouw. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Concertgebouw". Arcam (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 March 2026. Als inspiratiebron voor het Concertgebouw heeft hij de concertzaal Gewandhaus in Leipzig gebruikt. [He used the Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig as a source of inspiration for the Concertgebouw.]
  11. ^ "Het terrein van het latere Museumplein, gezien vanuit een bovenkamer van het woonhuis Ruysdaelkade 51, over de ijsbaan en de renbaan, naar het zojuist voltooide Concertgebouw". archief.amsterdam (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  12. ^ Drawing of the Concertgebouw in the fields, at the Amsterdam City Archives
  13. ^ a b Paul L. Montgomery (13 April 1988). "Dutch Hail Concertgebouw's 100th". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  14. ^ "Facts & Figures". Concertgebouw NV. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Jaarverslag 2012" [Annual Report 2012] (PDF) (in Dutch). Concertgebouw NV. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  16. ^ Pascoe, Robin (3 November 2025). "Concertgebouw cancels Hanukkah concert over Israeli army links". DutchNews.nl. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  17. ^ "Concertgebouw to Present Hanukkah Concert Without Cantor Shai Abramson". The Violin Channel. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Het Concertgebouw – Capaciteit Zalen" (PDF). Concertgebouw NV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  19. ^ "Geheime deuren in Het Concertgebouw | Preludium – magazine voor liefhebbers van klassieke muziek". www.preludium.nl. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  20. ^ "C'gebouworgel-dispositie" (PDF). www.concertgebouw.nl. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  21. ^ "Reader De eregalerijen in het concertgebouw" (PDF). Vrienden Concertgebouw & Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
Dutch Rijksmonument 288
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