Oslo Concert Hall (''Oslo Konserthus'') is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

located in

Vika Vika may refer to: __NOTOC__ Persons * often a short form of Victoria (and variants) in Eastern Europe * Vika Lusibaea (born 1964), Solomon Islands politician * Hilda Vīka (1897–1963), Latvian artist and writer * Ludo Vika (born 1955), Dominica ...

, a part of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

city centre in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is the base of the

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 187 ...

(''Oslo-Filharmonien''), but it also aims to be one of the premier music venues for the general musical and cultural life of Norway, offering a broad variety of musical styles from classical, world music, and popular entertainment by both Norwegian and international artists and groups. It presents more than 300 events yearly and receives more than 200,000 visitors.

History

For a long time, Oslo lacked a proper concert hall, and the Oslo Philharmonic did not have a regular hall for their rehearsals. Sometimes the rehearsals could be on different locations every day through the same project.

Construction

After decades of debate and delay, an architectal competition was arranged in 1955 and final drafts for the concert hall were presented in 1965, based on

Gösta Åbergh Gösta is a male given name, a variant of Gustav. Gösta may refer to: People * Gösta Åsbrink (1881–1966), Swedish gymnast and modern pentathlete *Gösta Andersson (skier) (1918–1979), Swedish cross-country skier *Gösta Andersson (wrestler) ...

’s winning proposal. Oslo Konserthus AS was founded in October 1966 and, on 22 March 1977, the concert hall was finally opened. In September the same year, a specially build

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 ...

(with 7000 pipes) from

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

was installed. It was the largest organ in Norway until 2014.

Building

The building consists of two

concert halls A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

, several meeting and practise rooms, large foyers and bars, a box office and an office wing. The main hall has a maximum capacity of more than 1,600 and the small hall has 266. The foyers can be used as exhibition areas, and the bars have a capacity of serving up to 1,400 people. Also the open area in front of the hall and the premises below belong to Oslo Konserthus AS. The

Stenersen Museum The Stenersen Museum ( no, Stenersenmuseet) is a Museum of Fine Arts located in Oslo, Norway. Stenersen Museum opened in 1994. It principally features exhibitions of contemporary art. The museum art exhibited originated with three private art co ...

(''Stenersenmuseet''), with its café ''Diorama'', are located in the latter. In 2000

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he was ...

, then conductor of the

, resigned his position after disputes with the city over the poor acoustics of the hall.

References

External links

Oslo Concert Hall
{{Authority control Music venues in Oslo Concert halls in Norway 1966 establishments in Norway 1977 establishments in Norway Music venues completed in 1977