Casals Forum
 The hall on 25 September 2022 | |
 | |
| Location | Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse, Germany |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°10′51″N 08°30′52″E / 50.18083°N 8.51444°E |
| Capacity | 550 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2017 |
| Opened | 2022 |
| Architect | Volker Staab |
Casals Forum is the concert hall for chamber music of the Kronberg Academy in Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse, Germany. Designed by Volker Staab from Berlin, building started in 2017 and the hall opened in 2022. It is named in honour of the cellist Pablo Casals. The complex includes rooms for teaching and practising for the students of the academy. Per the requests from the acoustic engineer, the architect designed the hall in a free form with curved convex and concave walls, to spread the sound widely. The acoustics have been compared to those of the hall of the Curtis Institute of Music and Wigmore Hall in London.[1]
History
The Kronberg Academy, an international educational institution for
The cornerstone of the new building was laid on 1 October 2017.
The hall was opened on 23 September 2022 in the presence of
The opening was celebrated with a festival of 24 concerts, including students and soloists such as
Building
The hall is located next to the Kronberg station, and to the municipal park. It was designed by the Berlin architect Volker Staab, who collaborated with the acoustic engineers Martijn Vercammen and Margriet Lautenbach from the Dutch consultancy Peutz.[9]
The main hall seats an audience of 550, the Bechstein hall seats 150, and a study centre is located in an adjacent building.[2][3][5] Per the requests from the acoustic engineer, the architect designed the hall in a free form with curved convex and concave walls, to spread the sound widely.[3] Walls in the hall are covered by light-brown wood. The curved space is reminiscent of the shape of a stringed instrument, and musicians said after the first rehearsal that "it felt and sounded as if you were playing inside a violin" ("es fühle sich an und klinge so, als ob man im Inneren einer Geige spiele").[6] On the top level, a front of fanned glass panes offers views of the park.[10] The climate control is efficient by an innovative storage technology for climate-neutral operation.[5][10]
Visual art
The Casals Forum has on display a collection of sculptures and installations including works by Tony Cragg, Antoni Tàpies, Karin Sander and Studio Drift, and a bust of Casals by Robert Berks.[11]
References
- ^ a b Sandner, Wolfgang (26 September 2022). "Ort für höchste musikalische Ansprüche". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Für einen in Europa einzigartigen Hörgenuss". FAZ (in German). 1 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Weigelt, Torsten (7 July 2017). "Neuer Konzertsaal für 550 Besucher". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Kronberg: Kosten für das Casals Forum steigen auf 58,5 Millionen Euro / Mit 500.000 Euro soll Kronberg ein "starkes Signal" für das Bauprojekt geben". Kronberger Bote (in German). 6 September 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Kronberg Academy eröffnet neuen Konzertsaal". Musik heute (in German). 23 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ Brachmann, Jan (25 October 2018). "Das einzig Positive am Brexit". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "Germany's Kronberg Academy Opens The Casals Forum". theviolinchannel.com. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "All-round geluid, maar natuurlijk - Casals Forum | Peutz". peutz.nl. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ Hessenschau(in German). 3 June 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Kunst im Casals Forum". Kronberg Festival (in German). Retrieved 2 October 2022.
External links
