Philharmonic halls and concert halls worldwide

architecture, acoustics and special auditoriums

For me, concert experiences often don't begin with the first note. They start much earlier: when I enter a hall, when I look at a glass façade, when I climb onto a roof, when I hear the soft rustling of the programme booklets. For me, philharmonic halls are more than just venues. They function as precisely constructed spaces for music, designed for acoustics and atmosphere.

For me as a Berliner, this feeling, this connection between music and place, is shaped by our Philharmonie.

Built by architect Hans Scharoun in 1963, my childhood, youth and adulthood have been shaped by this building in the Kulturforum am Tiergarten. Oh, what concerts I have experienced there and what music I have celebrated.

Philharmonie – a beautiful play on words

The word ‘Philharmonie’ comes from the Greek: phílos, love, friendship, and harmonía, harmony. When you enter a philharmonic hall, you become part of a community that appreciates music. The name has a unifying effect and invites you not only to listen to music, but to consciously experience it.

What makes a philharmonic hall special

What makes a philharmonic hall unique is not just its architecture. It is an interplay of acoustics, space and atmosphere. Every philharmonic hall has its own ‘personality’: some halls allow the sound to linger longer, others offer precise clarity, as if you were sitting in the middle of the orchestra. Architecture enhances the feeling, sometimes golden and opulent, sometimes cool and modern, sometimes rooted in old walls. And finally, there is the atmosphere: the murmuring before the concert, the expectant silence when the lights go out, today also the mobile phone-free atmosphere, the ‘escaping from everyday life’, the deep breath, the sneezing and blowing of noses between two movements.

The great icons, and why they remain in our memory

Of course, the most famous venues spring to mind first. The Berlin Philharmonic, a yellow building in the Tiergarten, has been redefining the listening experience since 1963: the audience surrounds the stage, and the acoustics distribute the energy in all directions.

I remember an evening when Beethoven was played. When the music fell silent, there was a silence in the hall that was almost physical. Outside, the bustle of Berlin was gone; inside, everyone carried that last note within them.

Or the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, this striking building, like a glass ship towering over the old Kaispeicher warehouse.

I was there once when rain was pelting against the façade outside and the harbour lay in twilight. Inside, the stage was aglow and Mahler's music filled the room. It was as if the inside and outside, the city and the hall, were in dialogue.

And then Paris: the Philharmonie de Paris, a building by Jean Nouvel that looks like a boulder in the north-east of the city.

I stood on the roof in autumn, fog lay over the metropolis and inside a cello solo began.

The unusual discoveries

As impressive as the well-known buildings are, sometimes it is the lesser-known philharmonic halls that leave the deepest impression.

In Neubrandenburg stands the Concert Church of St. Mary. From the outside, it is a Gothic brick church, but inside it is a modern concert hall, built like a house within a house. When I heard a chamber concert there, it was as if the old walls and modern sound were entering into a dialogue. Every note had a double effect: steeped in history and at the same time crystal clear and present.

The Rudolf Oetker Hall in Bielefeld is another such treasure. Inconspicuous from the outside, but with unrivalled acoustics inside.

At a concert there, I was surprised at how close you are to the musicians; you can hear the finest details, almost as if you were at a private performance.

The Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin is another such treasure. From the outside, it has bright gables, almost like cut-out paper.

Inside, there are spacious foyers, then the large hall with warm wood and clean lines. When I attended a concert there, I was surprised at how much the hall felt like a living room for music. I sat a little higher up on the side, had a view of the stage and the audience, and felt close to the musicians. On the steps in front of the building, this feeling lingered for a moment, as if I had carried a piece of it with me.

Personal memories

One moment that particularly sticks in my mind: in Hamburg, I was standing on the plaza of the Elbphilharmonie before the concert.

The sky was turning orange, the Elbe was glistening, seagulls were circling overhead. Then I entered the hall, and it was as if I had left the outside world behind me. The music began, and suddenly the harbour was just a faint echo behind what was happening on stage.

In Berlin, it was completely different. After a concert in the Philharmonie, I stepped out into the cold night. The streets were quiet,

with hardly any traffic, and I could still hear the finale in my head, as if the city itself were carrying the echo.

Experiences like this are what make trips to philharmonic halls so special: space, music and city merge into one.

Music trips to philharmonic halls in Hamburg and Berlin

For guests of Music Travel Hideaways, Hamburg and Berlin are ideal destinations for experiencing renowned philharmonic halls.

In Hamburg, the evening might begin with a stroll through the Speicherstadt warehouse district, an aperitif at the harbour and then a concert at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Those who wish can stay overnight in a boutique hotel overlooking the Elbe and take a harbour tour or visit the city's charming little music venues the next day.

In Berlin, on the other hand, a concert evening at the Philharmonie can be combined with culture on Museum Island, dinner at a historic inn and a stroll through the Tiergarten. And those who want to delve deeper can also visit the Pierre Boulez Hall, which is smaller, more intimate and very exciting in terms of its acoustics.

And if you're in the mood for something unusual, you can extend your trip: perhaps a detour to Neubrandenburg to experience the concert church, or an evening in Bielefeld, where you can discover philharmonic halls away from the big headlines.

Philharmonic halls are more than just buildings. They are places of encounter, precisely constructed spaces for music and a reflection of their cities.

Discover our current music tours to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Philharmonie Berlin.

On request, we can also plan international philharmonic trips – from Paris and Hong Kong to Tokyo.

Want to find out more? Take a look at our music trip to Japan and our music trip to Hong Kong:

Music trip to Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Matsumoto

Hong Kong: concert visits, insider tips, fine hotels