The article features extracts from the book »Elbphilharmonie LIVE«. Author Tom R. Schulz writes about the venue’s unique architecture and complex technology, musical guests from all over the world, major stage productions, exciting festivals and the Elbphilharmonie’s mission to be a venue for everyone. »Elbphilharmonie LIVE« offers a glimpse behind the scenes and into the inner workings of the concert hall through a series of impressive photographs: a fascinating illustrated book that captures the euphoria both in front of and on the stage of the Elbphilharmonie, as if you had been there in person.
Elbphilharmonie Live
Packed with facts, anecdotes and moving concerts – this book showcases the highlights from 10 years of the Elbphilharmonie and takes you behind the scenes of Hamburg’s musical landmark.
208 Pages, more than 200 photos, available in German and English
€ 34,50
A peek inside the book
The Outer Shell
It is indeed true. Standing there as it does, with its narrow side facing downstream towards the west and steadily, though asymmetrically, increasing in volume towards the east, the Elbphilharmonie resembles a somewhat unusually constructed ship. Looking at the curves and crests of its roof, clad in white circular perforated panels, there are further reminders of the sea. Of a steep, foaming wave just before it breaks, as though frozen in time. The Elbphilharmonie, a wondrous feat of human imagination and engineering, stands with its feet in the water, rising from there in a garment of brick and glass to a considerable height and crowning it all with an intimation of a sea swell bursting into white spray. It appears sturdy, iridescent, geometrically precise and yet fluid at the same time.
The mere sight of this building has fascinated people ever since the first draft designs, which the Basel-based architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron presented in Hamburg in early summer 2003. The renderings revealed just how spectacularly the Kaispeicher A – a warehouse prominently positioned on the western tip of the emerging HafenCity quarter – could be transformed into a concert hall. After nine and a half years of construction and all anner of disputes, the building, as purist as it is boldly distinctive, was finally completed in the autumn of 2016. Since then, it has shaped Hamburg’s image around the
world.
The edges of the building seem carved with razor-sharp precision, while the quay wall, marked by its striking white band that emphasises the site’s unique position from the water’s edge, appears equally crisp.
The comings and goings inside the warmly illuminated building can be seen outside, while nearby buildings and towers shimmer across the facade.
Like a uniquely faceted mirrored cube, the Elbphilharmonie stands sentinel at the western tip of the HafenCity.
Interiors that Resonate
Any talk at all about the interior of the Elbphilharmonie and all minds and eyes are immediately drawn to what one might call »the main event«: the Grand Hall is, after all, the very reason the building exists. Is it too much to call it a work of art? Its proportions, design language and materials certainly make the space unmistakable. Anyone stepping inside for the first time instantly senses that everything has been carefully considered down to the smallest detail. The hall seems to breathe. It brings audiences close to the music. It feels welcoming and magnificent at once – though in an amazing way that manages to be both self-assured and modest.
Of course, the Grand Hall was designed to deliver world-class acoustics. But even in moments of complete stillness, the space possesses a remarkable presence.
Entrance 12/A guides concertgoers past the stage and into the auditorium.
Suspended above the stage like an inverted mushroom is a highly complex structure packed with technology and accessible only to the experts: the reflector.
Visitors to the Elbphilharmonie enjoy complete freedom when it comes to what they wear. From casual outfits to evening attire, the whole gamut of wardrobe choices is represented and everything is welcome.
In the Engine Room
A fascination with technology may sound like a cliche, but it perfectly captures the attitude of the Elbphilharmonie’s technical departments. The following pages offer a closer look at some of the systems and machines that ensure the Elbphilharmonie operates safely and without any unforeseen hitches. As becomes quickly apparent, the building’s technical infrastructure and facilities are finished to a sophisticated standard.
The so-called »centre cluster«, suspended from the reflector above the middle of the stage, contains 18 loudspeakers.
On the north side of the 18th floor are the cable trunks for the HVAC system, the mechanical ventilation system serving the Grand Hall.
The fire-engine-red pipes and valves belong to one of the sprinkler system’s distribution stations. It has already earned the Elbphilharmonie an award for exemplary fire safety.
The rust-red steel girder structure supports the Grand Hall itself. The entire structure rests on 360 grey iron moulds fitted with black rubber in the centre – the so-called spring assemblies.
Musical Horizons
The photographs allow us, as viewers, to share in what defines the everyday lives of musicians: performing, devoting themselves on stage with all their senses to what is their life’s calling and enjoying the relief that follows a concert. They also show how artists familiarise themselves with the space, prepare both internally and externally, or simply wait for the performance to begin. Both halls also leave a lasting impression on the musicians who perform here. The unusual proximity to the audience, which, in the Grand Hall, surrounds the performers on all sides; the shape and proportions of the halls; the extraordinary acoustics created through the interaction between sound and architecture; the special energetic resonance that often emerges here: all of this is very much out of the everyday, even for world-famous artists.
The photographs also reveal that musical genres are not treated hierarchically in this concert hall. Yes,
classical music forms the main core of the Elbphilharmonie’s programme. But this is not confined to Western classical music and music by deceased composers. Music from all cultures of the world has a place here, while contemporary music is performed with particular dedication and exuberance.
Around 200 orchestral concerts take place on the stage of the Grand Hall each season. Here, in a photograph from September 2024, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the venue’s resident orchestra, can be seen in full force.
At André Heller’s »Reflektor« , there is a week of music from a wide range of cultures alongside artistic interventions in word and image. In the foyers, paintings by Xenia Hausner are projected on a monumental scale onto the slanting white walls.
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld returns from Paris to Hamburg, the city he was born and brought up in, for a truly spectacular event. He is so impressed by the newly opened Elbphilharmonie that he chooses it as the venue for his »Métiers d’Art« show.
One of the most compelling female orchestra conductors is Vilnius-born Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who led the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for five years and is seen here conducting.
Two dancers join the musical »brothers in spirit« of the group Noureddine Khourchid & The Whirling Dervishes from Damascus.
The microphone is already in her hand; only moments remain before she steps onto the stage. Angélique Kidjo, one of Africa’s most celebrated voices in popular music, backstage in a rare moment of stillness.
