Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

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Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall

The Philharmonic Hall has been at the centre of Merseyside's cultural life for over 150 years.

From its beginnings in 1849, to its phoenix-like rise from the flames in 1939, to its current incarnation as one of the world's great concert halls, the hall, owned and managed by the RLPS, has always striven to bring the very best in arts and entertainment to Merseyside.

The Philharmonic Hall, on Hope Street, Liverpool, first opened on 27 August, 1849, financed by a group of music-loving amateurs, the Liverpool Philharmonic Society. Designed by John Cunningham, the hall was built in true Victorian style, with a box-shaped auditorium, large, grand stalls and a number of balcony seats. Acoustically the building was considered perfect by everyone in the region and Thomas Beecham considered it to be the best in Europe. Tragically, on 5 July 1933, a loose spark in the organ loft started a fire which completely destroyed the magnificent building.

Herbert J Rowse was appointed to build a new hall and by 1939, Liverpool's new Philharmonic Hall once again offered the best acoustics and customer facilities of any concert hall in Europe.

In 1994, the Philharmonic Hall closed again, this time for a £10.3 million refurbishment, re-opening in 1995, with the very best facilities, completed to the very highest modern standards of comfort and convenience, for artists and customers, with sumptuous restaurants, bars, seats, foyers, ventilation, access and backstage facilities: all this alongside massive improvements to acoustics, technical facilities including Dolby surround sound and a much bigger stage.

"The newly restored Liverpool Philharmonic is so ritzy that no performance could fail to be enhanced by the Hollywood style art deco splendour"

Philharmonic Hall is home to the world class Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Merseyside Youth Orchestra. (The Society and Orchestra were granted royal patronage in 1957, the choir in 1990).

Philharmonic Hall also houses the only surviving Walturdaw Cinema Screen in the world. (The other two, one in St. Petersburg, the other in the Arabian states, no longer function). The screen features a unique, antique counter weight system, still working perfectly, which raises the screen proscenium - an ensemble of over seven tons - a full 19ft through the stage. The screen was rejuvenated during the hall's refurbishment , with new screen and drapes. Dolby stereo sound was added, with specially made flush speakers hidden in the fabric of the building itself.

The Philharmonic Hall's wide-ranging programme includes a full season of concerts by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and associated ensembles, chamber music, celebrity recitals, popular orchestral promotions, comedy, popular music, opera and operetta, films ranging from black-and- white silent classics to the very latest wide-screen stereophonic blockbusters, conferences and non-concert, largely community use.

"The sort of names now coming to the new Phil has to be good news for a City whose reputation across the world is still enormous; to have such a great Hall putting on so many different great artists only enhances that reputation, and all credit to the Phil for attracting such a spectrum of talent to Liverpool."

There, you can hear the world's greatest music played by one of the world's great orchestras. You would also be in perhaps the city's most civilised setting, with superb acoustics and grand architecture.


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