Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Philharmonic Hall is a Grade II* listed concert hall located mid way along Hope Street in Liverpool, England.
The current hall was completed in 1939, designed by Herbert J Rowse. It was built on the site of the previous hall, providing the city with some of the best acoustics and facilities in Europe. The hall is owned and managed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society.
The original hall opened on August 27, 1849, financed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society. It was designed by John Cunningham. Acoustically the building was considered perfect by everyone in the region and Thomas Beecham considered it to be the best in Europe. A loose spark in the organ loft started a fire which destroyed the building, on July 5, 1933.
The hall is the home, rehearsal and concert venue of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra performs around 60 concerts a year in the hall, and in between these the hall hosts Pop and Rock concerts, community concerts, graduation ceremonies, and conferences.
In addition to its merits as a concert hall, the Philharmonic Hall also contains the last remaining Walturdaw rising cinema screen in the world, which is used for frequent screenings of classic films. As the art deco screen rises up from the stage for a film, it is accompanied by organ music from Dave Nicholas, Merseyside's only resident cinema organist. The organ in the hall was installed for use with orchestral and choral performances, and so it can be referred to as the only classical organ being played regularly as a theatre organ.
The hall was the venue annually of Liverpool Institute for Boys Speech Day & Prize-giving held usually in December each year until closure in 1985. The evening also featured the entire school as a choir in a series of well rehearsed musical pieces which included light opera as well as traditional & sacred pieces. Today, the hall hosts Speech Days and Prize Givings for many schools in Merseyside.
