Gothenburg Concert Hall
Functionalist 1935 hall on Götaplatsen, home of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
The Gothenburg Concert Hall occupies the western side of Götaplatsen, facing the art museum across the square. Nils Einar Eriksson won the competition for the building and described his solution as a crab inside a rectangle: an acoustically shaped auditorium set within a calm functionalist box of brick, glass and pale stone. Completed in 1935, it is regarded as one of the finest Swedish buildings of its period, and the interiors make conspicuous use of maple, brass and Swedish textiles.
The hall is the home of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, which has held the title of Sweden's National Orchestra since 1997 and has been associated with conductors including Neeme Järvi, Gustavo Dudamel and Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The Great Hall seats around 1,250 people and houses a concert organ of more than 9,000 pipes; the smaller Stenhammar Hall, decorated with inlaid woodwork, is used for chamber music. Jazz, choral programmes, family concerts and architectural guided tours also feature in the season.
Highlights
- Great Hall acoustics, among the most admired of any Nordic concert hall
- Nils Einar Eriksson's 1935 functionalist interiors in maple and brass
- Concert organ with more than 9,000 pipes
- Stenhammar Hall, an intimate chamber venue with inlaid decoration
