World’s 15 most beautiful concert halls – from Austria to Brazil

By CNN Staff
2 minute read
Updated 4:53 AM EST, Mon March 3, 2014
Building data company Emporis has released a list of the world's most spectacular concert halls.<br />The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, has "fluid forms that contrast to the rigid, monumental architecture you normally find in Baku."President Ilham Aliyev, who officially opened the building on May 10, 2012, named the building after his late father, Heydar Aliyev, who was also a president of Azerbaijan. <strong>Architect:</strong> Zaha Hadid Architects.
Heydar Aliyev Center (Azerbaijan) —
Building data company Emporis has released a list of the world's most spectacular concert halls.
The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, has "fluid forms that contrast to the rigid, monumental architecture you normally find in Baku."President Ilham Aliyev, who officially opened the building on May 10, 2012, named the building after his late father, Heydar Aliyev, who was also a president of Azerbaijan. Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects.
Eugene Leung/Flickr
The building houses three organizations: Opera South, the Agder Theater and the Kristiansand Philharmonic.It contains four performance halls, the largest with 1,200 seats. <strong>Architects: </strong>ALA Architects Ltd., SMS Arkitekter AS.
Kilden Performing Arts Centre (Norway) —
The building houses three organizations: Opera South, the Agder Theater and the Kristiansand Philharmonic.It contains four performance halls, the largest with 1,200 seats. Architects: ALA Architects Ltd., SMS Arkitekter AS.
Mark Greaves
The Kauffman Center includes two separate performance halls; one for the symphony seating 1,600, and one for the ballet seating 1,800.The construction costs for the whole complex were $304 million. <strong>Architects: </strong>BNIM Architects, Moshe Safdie & Associates.
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (U.S.) —
The Kauffman Center includes two separate performance halls; one for the symphony seating 1,600, and one for the ballet seating 1,800.The construction costs for the whole complex were $304 million. Architects: BNIM Architects, Moshe Safdie & Associates.
Kedar Kulkarni
The great hall has 2,440 seats while the chamber music hall has 1,180 seats. "The Philharmonie is an excellent example of post-war modernism," says the report. <strong>Architect: </strong>Hans Scharoun.
Philharmonie (Germany) —
The great hall has 2,440 seats while the chamber music hall has 1,180 seats. "The Philharmonie is an excellent example of post-war modernism," says the report. Architect: Hans Scharoun.
Michel Hierner
The Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín in Spain has a 50-meter-high overhanging roof, intended to give the impression of animal-like movement and flexibility.<strong> Architect: </strong>Santiago Calatrava S.A.
Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín (Spain) —
The Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín in Spain has a 50-meter-high overhanging roof, intended to give the impression of animal-like movement and flexibility. Architect: Santiago Calatrava S.A.
Jose Eliécer Garcia Arango/Flickr
The Cidade das Artes was placed in the heart of a new district of Rio de Janeiro, Barra da Tijuca.Visitors can access all the other facilities in the building from the building's terrace. <strong>Architect: </strong>Atelier Christian de Portzamparc.
Cidade das Artes (Brazil) —
The Cidade das Artes was placed in the heart of a new district of Rio de Janeiro, Barra da Tijuca.Visitors can access all the other facilities in the building from the building's terrace. Architect: Atelier Christian de Portzamparc.
Marcos Luz/Flickr
Officially opened on October 12, 2002, the Esplanade's program includes 14 festivals and 20 on-going series per year. <strong>Architects: </strong>DP Architects Pte Ltd, James Stirling, Michael Wilford & Associates, PWD Corporation Private Limited.
Esplanade Concert Hall (Singapore) —
Officially opened on October 12, 2002, the Esplanade's program includes 14 festivals and 20 on-going series per year. Architects: DP Architects Pte Ltd, James Stirling, Michael Wilford & Associates, PWD Corporation Private Limited.
Choo Yut Shing/Flickr
This concert hall was the last building to be finished in the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias complex.The two steel shells covering the building weigh more than 3,000 tons. <strong>Architect:</strong> Santiago Calatrava S.A.
El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Spain) —
This concert hall was the last building to be finished in the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias complex.The two steel shells covering the building weigh more than 3,000 tons. Architect: Santiago Calatrava S.A.
German Vidal
The opening concert at Harpa on May 4, 2011 featured Beethoven's 9th symphony."Harpa" is an Icelandic female first name, meaning "harp." <strong>Architects:</strong> Batteríið Architects, Henning Larsen Architects.
Harpa (Iceland) —
The opening concert at Harpa on May 4, 2011 featured Beethoven's 9th symphony."Harpa" is an Icelandic female first name, meaning "harp." Architects: Batteríið Architects, Henning Larsen Architects.
Christian Isberg/Flickr
The official opening of Graz's Haus für Musik und Musiktheater took place on March 1, 2009, with a performance of Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute."The building has two entrances: one for students and staff, the other for the public when there's a performance. <strong>Architect: </strong>UNStudio.
MUMUTH (Austria) —
The official opening of Graz's Haus für Musik und Musiktheater took place on March 1, 2009, with a performance of Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute."The building has two entrances: one for students and staff, the other for the public when there's a performance. Architect: UNStudio.
Gabi Weinert/Flickr
Nicknamed "the giant egg," this Beijing building contains an opera house (2,398 seats), a concert hall (2,019 seats) and two theaters (one with 1,035 seats). <strong>Architect: </strong>Paul Andreu.
National Centre for Performing Arts (China) —
Nicknamed "the giant egg," this Beijing building contains an opera house (2,398 seats), a concert hall (2,019 seats) and two theaters (one with 1,035 seats). Architect: Paul Andreu.
Sophie Dauwe
Under its curved glass mantle, Sage Gateshead houses three concert halls of varying size, all equipped with high-end technology.Since its completion in 2004, the organically shaped event complex has been an attraction of the Newcastle area in northern England. <strong>Architect:</strong> Foster + Partners.
Sage Gateshead (UK) —
Under its curved glass mantle, Sage Gateshead houses three concert halls of varying size, all equipped with high-end technology.Since its completion in 2004, the organically shaped event complex has been an attraction of the Newcastle area in northern England. Architect: Foster + Partners.
Gareth James/Wikipedia
The main hall offers 1,140 seats. There are three smaller halls, one of them used as a banquet hall, a café, an exhibition space or a concert hall.In 2007, the building won a gold medal at the Biennale in Miami Beach in the category "large public buildings." <strong>Architect: </strong>Henning Larsens Tegnestue A/S.
Uppsala Konsert & Kongress (Sweden) —
The main hall offers 1,140 seats. There are three smaller halls, one of them used as a banquet hall, a café, an exhibition space or a concert hall.In 2007, the building won a gold medal at the Biennale in Miami Beach in the category "large public buildings." Architect: Henning Larsens Tegnestue A/S.
Michel Adamek/Flickr
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale.In 2005, the building's stainless steel façade was sandblasted to lessen its reflective impact, which had proved to be a distraction to drivers and local residents. <strong>Architect: </strong>Gehry Partners, LLP.
Walt Disney Concert Hall (United States) —
The Walt Disney Concert Hall is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale.In 2005, the building's stainless steel façade was sandblasted to lessen its reflective impact, which had proved to be a distraction to drivers and local residents. Architect: Gehry Partners, LLP.
Carsten Bun
The first concert in the Casa da Música took place one day before the official inauguration by the Portuguese president on April 15, 2005.The building is home to the National Orchestra of Porto. <strong>Architect: </strong>Office for Metropolitan Architecture.
Casa da Música (Portugal) —
The first concert in the Casa da Música took place one day before the official inauguration by the Portuguese president on April 15, 2005.The building is home to the National Orchestra of Porto. Architect: Office for Metropolitan Architecture.
Rita Willaert/Flickr
World's 15 most beautiful concert halls

Story highlights

Concert halls highlighted as visually beautiful buildings in new report

15 buildings named, upcoming halls in construction also highlighted

United States and Spain both get two buildings listed

CNN  — 

As pretty on the eyes as they are dramatic on the ears.

That’s how we should appreciate some of the world’s concert halls, according to building data company Emporis.

The Hamburg-based company has put together a list of what it’s calling the world’s most spectacular concert halls.

“These days concert halls also have remarkable architecture, offering audiences a great show even before they have taken their seats,” the report said.

“More and more concert halls are being built that stand out by virtue of their eye-catching shapes, colors and materials.”

It highlights the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, as an example of an “extraordinary” concert structure: “The white building’s curved, wave-like shape makes it seem as if it has been ‘poured’ into the landscape.”

Berlin’s Philharmonie building, completed in 1963, also makes the list, as do the Cidade das Artes in Rio de Janeiro and Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall.

The United States and Spain both get two entries – Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall “has the appearance of curved metal plates piled into one other and which … make the design look like an outlandish fantasy,” the report said.

One surprising omission from the list of 15 is Sydney’s famous Opera House. But it does get a mention in the report, illustrating how long some of these structures take to build.

The Sydney Opera House took 14 years to complete, and one concert hall in construction, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie building, will be completed in 2016, nine years after having started.

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