Paris’s Salle Pleyel orchestra hall reopens after four years of renovations

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This article was published 14/09/2006 (7014 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PARIS (AP) – New York has Carnegie Hall. Berlin has the Philharmonie. But for four years, Paris – a capital of art, literature and theatre – has had no permanent home for its orchestra, until now.

The Salle Pleyel held it first concert Wednesday after four years of restoration. The Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, performed Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony at a red-carpet premiere.

Built in’27 by the piano-making firm of the same name, the Salle Pleyel was the world’s first concert hall designed exclusively for the symphony orchestra. Ravel, Debussy and Stravinsky performed their masterpieces there, only to see the hall devastated by fire less than nine months after its opening.

The Pleyel was restored, but in an economic downturn, with no one willing to spend big money on a concert hall. The original sound quality was never recovered.

Real-estate developer Hubert Martigny bought the concert hall in’98 and decided to do away with modifications made in four previous attempts. The recent renovations cost US$38 million.

Workers restored the art-deco spirit of the original hall, with white walls, beech wood trimmings, a solid oak stage and burgundy seating.

Acoustics were also refined. Architect Francois Ceria and New York sound designers Artec Consultants Inc. raised the ceiling, added side balconies and removed nearly 500 seats.

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestre de Paris now have a home worthy of their reputations, and the London Symphony Orchestra has agreed to make the Salle Pleyel its venue in Paris.