Saalbau Essen is a concert venue in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, Germany, the home of the Essen Philharmonic. The original building was completed in 1902, and destroyed during World War II on 26 July 1943. It was rebuilt between 1949 and 1954 and completely renovated in 2003 and 2004. The Saalbau Essen is located a little bit south of the city center close to the

Aalto Theatre The Aalto Theatre (Aalto-Theater) is a performing arts venue in Essen, Germany, and is home to the city's opera company Aalto-Musiktheater and the ballet company Aalto Ballett. The serve as the venue's orchestra. The theatre opened on 25 Septembe ...

. Since the 2013/2014 season

Tomáš Netopil Tomáš Netopil (born 18 July 1975 in Přerov) is a Czech conductor. He conducted the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005 and made his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2006. In 2006, he also conducted at the Salzburg Festival an ...

has been the

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of Essener Philharmonic. Also since 2013/2014

Hein Mulders Hein Mulders (born 9 October 1962 in Bussum) is a Dutch cultural manager and intendant of the Saalbau Essen since the beginning of the 2013/14 season.Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

. The design of the building was affected by the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

movement.

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

conducted here in 1906 at the 42. Tonkünstlerfestes (sound artist festival) of the

Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein The Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein (ADMV, "General German Music Association") was a German musical association founded in 1861 by Franz Liszt and Franz Brendel, to embody the musical ideals of the New German School of music. Background At th ...

the world premiere of his 6. Sinfonie, followed by

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

in 1913 with the world premiere of his Böcklin-Suite. The Saalbau was destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on 26 July 1943 together with the city center of Essen. After World War II, between 1949 and 1954, a modernized version was rebuilt. The most significant attribute of the building was the copper roof of the building. The white hall (Weiße Saal) got a unique ceramic wall from

Charles Crodel Charles Crodel (September 16, 1894 – November 11, 1973) was a German painter and stained glass artist. Life Crodel was born in Marseille, he studied in 1914 with Richard Riemerschmid, one of the founders of the Deutscher Werkbund, at the M ...

. Alter Saalbau Essen, Kruppsaal um 1905.JPG, Kruppsaal around 1905 Saalbau, Essen.JPG, Saalbau from northeast Saalbau Essen Bühne.JPG, Stage in the Alfried-Krupp-Saal

Philharmonie today

Between 2002 and 2004, the Saalbau was refurbished at the cost of 72 million

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. During this time, the Alfried-Krupp-Saal was extended at the back side. The building was reopened on 4 June 2004.

Entrance and lobby

Some parts of the building were converted to the state of the 1950s, for example the entrance and the lobby (Wandelhalle). At the main entrance are some small cash boxes, at the top are some historical candleholder. The cash boxes have been used only for short time, as they are too small and have no IT connection. The wardrobe site of the lobby is made from

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

, the other sides are made from beton.

Alfried Krupp Hall

The Alfried Krupp Hall ( Alfried-Krupp-Saal) is the central and biggest venue. The design consists of bright wood paneling and warm colors. The red steel construction elements are references to the company

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...

During an acoustic test it was observed that the steel elements should not be covered for acoustical reasons. Therefore, they are still undisguised and visible. The hall has places for 1906 people. The stage size can be adjusted to the size of the ensemble. The stage together with the parquet can be adjusted in the high to the level of the balcony. Then the hall can be used as Ballroom or for shareholder venue. The acoustic roof has a diameter of , weights and can be adjusted in the high. The venue has a high of , the second balcony starts at a high of . At the head end of the venue is the pipe organ from Kuhn.

RWE-Pavillon

The installation of the new RWE-Pavillon was sponsored by the energy provider

RWE RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. The company is Europe's most climate threatening Company, the world's number two in offsh ...

and is located between the two staircases of the Saalbau. It is an extension to the historical part of the building. It offers room for up to 400 people. Inside the room are two artworks of the artist

Thomas Schütte Thomas Schütte (born 16 November 1954) is a German contemporary artist. He sculpts, creates architectural designs, and draws. He lives and works in Düsseldorf. Education From 1973 to 1981 Schütte studied art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf al ...

Festival room

The festival room (Festsaal) offers place for up to 238 people. The wall paneling is made from mahogany and pear wood.

Color halls

The color halls (Bunte Säle) of the conference centre are above the Wandelhalle. There is one yellow, green and a white hall with a size between and . The white hall is the medium room. It consists of a ceramic wall from Charles Crodel date in the 1950s. They are covered with motives of the European myths. The yellow hall has walls made from citron wood and silk prints by in 1954. The prints are showing the and the

Golden Madonna of Essen The Golden Madonna of Essen is a sculpture of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. It is a wooden core covered with sheets of thin gold leaf. The piece is part of the treasury of Essen Cathedral, formerly the church of Essen Abbey, in North Rhi ...

. The green hall is covered by pear wood. The Bauhaus design was recovered during the refreshment in 2004.

Club rooms

There are three club rooms (Clubräume) ''

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

'', ''

'' and ''

'' for up to 44 people.

Kuhn-organ

The

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

in the Alfried Krupp Hall was built by . The instrument has 62

organ stop An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air (known as ''wind'') to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; each can be "on" (admitting the passage of air ...

s (4502

organ pipe An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air (commonly referred to as ''wind'') is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale. A set of ...

s) on three manuals and

pedal keyboard A pedalboard (also called a pedal keyboard, pedal clavier, or, with electronic instruments, a bass pedalboard) is a keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A pedalboard has long ...

. The instrument had a price of 1,2 million

. The instrument has a weight of roughly a size of . The largest pipe has a size of .

Critics

Critics have repeatedly voted the Essen Philharmonic as Germany's

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

of the Year.

Public transport

The

Essen Stadtbahn The Essen Stadtbahn (german: Stadtbahn Essen) is a light rail (Stadtbahn) network in Essen and the two neighbouring towns of Mülheim an der Ruhr and Gelsenkirchen in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia. It forms part of the Rhine-Ru ...

station Philharmonie is located near the Saalbau and named after it.

References

External links

*
Saalbau details
Essen Philharmonic {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Essen Concert halls in Germany Art Nouveau architecture in Germany 1902 establishments in Germany Music venues completed in 1902