Posted on April 11, 2019
On this date in 1888, the Concertgebouw - Amsterdam's now-famous concert hall - held its grand opening.
That night, an orchestra of 120 musicians and a chorus of 500 singers performed works by Wagner, Handel, Bach, and Beethoven.
The Concertgebouw is famous for its amazing acoustics. In other words, music played in this building is even more beautiful and resonant than it is in most other concert halls. It's a bit strange that this is true, in some ways, because the architect, Dolf van Gendt, was considered by his family to be utterly without musical talent. This means that he lacked a "good ear," which means the ability to notice especially good acoustics. So...how did he succeed in creating great acoustics?
At the time, the science of acoustics wasn't much developed, so architects tried to copy what has worked in the past. Van Gendt copied successful concert halls with both the shape of the halls and the materials used. But the amazing acoustics cannot be fully understood even with modern-day equipment, so I am guessing that some of van Gendt's success was luck!
At the time, the science of acoustics wasn't much developed, so architects tried to copy what has worked in the past. Van Gendt copied successful concert halls with both the shape of the halls and the materials used. But the amazing acoustics cannot be fully understood even with modern-day equipment, so I am guessing that some of van Gendt's success was luck!
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| Even though the Concertgebouw isn't ideal for amplified music, several rock bands performed there in the 1960s, including Pink Floyd. |
Also:
On this date in 1988, the Concertgebouw REopened. It had been discovered five years before that the concert hall was sinking into the damp ground - remember, the Netherlands are literally named "low lands," and the land lies famously close to - and in some cases below - sea level.
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| Because of Netherlands' low elevation and history of flooding, it now has a billion-dollar sea wall to prevent future flooding! |
A beautiful building sinking into the earth is not a good thing, of course! And several cracks were discovered in the walls. By 1985, emergency restoration was begun. The posts that supported the building were made of wood - and were rotting away from continued contact with water! - and so 2,186 pilings were removed and replaced with concrete pillars.
Since so much effort was being made to save the building, a Dutch architect and his crew built a new basement for better, larger dressing areas and rehearsal spaces, and they also built a new entrance.
By the way, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw is considered one of the world's greatest concert halls, and it is one of the most visited halls in the world!Also on this date:
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