The Score | Hamburg Hub

With the opening of the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg is putting itself out there as Germany’s next big cultural hub. On the site of a former warehouse overlooking the Elbe River, the $835 million space features two concert halls, as well as a hotel, restaurant, and apartments. It is designed by the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, and the acoustician is Yasuhisa Toyota. The larger hall features wraparound seating for an audience of 2,100; the smaller space has a flexible stage and seating for 500. The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the resident orchestra, made its debut in the space on January 11 with Music Director Thomas Hengelbrock leading the orchestra—plus the NDR choir, the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and vocal soloists—in music of Beethoven, Cavalieri, Liebermann, Messiaen, Praetorius, Wagner, and Zimmermann, plus a world premiere by Wolfgang Rhim.