City Recital Hall

Concert venue in Sydney, Australia

City Recital Hall
City Recital Hall
Map
Address2 Angel Place
Sydney NSW 2000
LocationSydney, Australia
Capacity1,264 seated capacity
Construction
Opened1999 (1999)
Renovated2023-2024
ArchitectPeddle Thorp & Walker Architects (1999)
Website
Venue Website

City Recital Hall in Sydney, Australia, is a purpose-built concert venue with the capacity for an audience of 1,238 people seated over three tiers of sloped seating. It is situated in the city centre in Angel Place, just off Martin Place.

History

City Recital Hall, opened in 1999, is the first specially designed concert venue to be built in the city since the Opera House in 1973.[1][2]

The venue was initiated by the City of Sydney and was specifically designed for solo recitals, chamber music and the spoken word. The auditorium's 1.8-second reverberation time is attuned for chamber music. The spoken word and amplified music are accommodated by the operation of specially designed acoustic banners. The entire auditorium is supported on rubber bearings to avoid vibration and street sounds and the air conditioning and lighting systems have been treated to minimise external noise.[1]

The Hall was designed in a shoebox shape, based on the classical configuration of 19th-century European concert halls. The design includes gently sloping stalls and two galleries that wrap around both sides and rear of the auditorium. The décor is of grey, gold leaf, light timber panelling and plum-coloured upholstery. The main grand stairway is white marble.[1]

Since 2023[update], City Recital Hall has been undergoing a Capital Renewal Project in partnership with the City of Sydney. The renovations encompass the four foyers, including the four bars and cloakroom, the lower ground bathrooms, the dressing and green rooms, and the orchestra room.[3] In addition, the venue's audio system has been upgraded to enable 360-degree spatial sound on all three levels, with the aim of further establishing a place in Sydney's contemporary music scene to complement classical offerings.[4][5] Since June 2023[update], partially as a result of renovations, City Recital Hall began offering standing general admission concerts.[6][7]

Notable events and performances

City Recital Hall has hosted the following companies:

A list of some of the more famous musical acts that have performed at City Recital Hall include:

Band name Genre Country Year/s Played
Bon Iver Indie folk  United States 2009
Sara Bareilles Pop  United States 2014
The Milk Carton Kids Indie folk  United States 2015, 2023
Middle Kids Alternative / Indie rock  Australia 2021
Julia Jacklin Indie pop  Australia 2022
Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky Australian rock / Folk & Jazz  Australia 2022
Aldous Harding Indie folk  New Zealand 2022
Peaches Electroclash / Punk rock  Canada 2023
Femi Kuti Afrobeats  Nigeria /  United Kingdom 2023
Ichiko Aoba Folk  Japan 2023
Cerrone Disco / Electronic  France 2023
The Pharcyde Alternative hip hop  United States 2023
Obongjayar Afrobeat  Nigeria /  United Kingdom 2023
Oneohtrix Point Never Electronic / Experimental  United States 2023
Autechre Electronic  United Kingdom 2023
Ezra Collective Jazz / Afrobeat  United Kingdom 2023
Theo Parrish Deep house  United States 2023
Courtney Barnett Indie rock / Alternative rock  Australia 2024
Yothu Yindi Rock / Indigenous music of Australia  Australia 2024
Marlon Williams Alt-country / Folk  New Zealand 2024

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Murray 2005.
  2. ^ "City Recital Hall celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a special concert event: We Are Twenty". Eastside FM. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  3. ^ Archer Office. "City Recital Hall". CO-architecture. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  4. ^ "d&b Soundscape gives Sydney City Recital Hall a new voice". Mondo DR. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  5. ^ "d&b Revives Sydney's City Recital Hall". National Audio Systems. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  6. ^ Lefevre, Jules (1 May 2023). "The Pharcyde, Cerrone, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever to Play Sydney's City Recital Hall". Music Feeds.
  7. ^ Hansen, Ben (5 May 2023). "The City Recital Hall Has Announced Its June Program Featuring Legends The Pharcyde and Asgeir". Concrete Playground.

References

  • Murray, Lisa Anne (2005). Musial Chairs: The Quest for a City Recital Hall. Sydney: City of Sydney. ISBN 0-9751196-3-X. OCLC 76915773.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to City Recital Hall.

33°52′01″S 151°12′28″E / 33.867028°S 151.207865°E / -33.867028; 151.207865

  • Official website
  • Review of the new book "Musical Chairs: The Quest for a City Recital Hall"