The New Philharmonie in Paris – a success

Press presentation from Philharmonie de Paris. Edited by Tomas Bagackas, Photos Henning Høholt

PARIS/FRANCE:  April 23rd 2015. The Philharmonie de Paris, which is supported by the state and the City of Paris, aims to bring music to the widest possible audience through concerts, an educational programme, a museum, exhibitions and a host of fun activities for all the family.

Below is a summary of the concerts and activities taking place in the two adjoining buildings:

Philharmonie 1 (designed by Jean Nouvel) and Cité de la Musique-Philharmonie 2 (designed by Christian de Portzamparc).

First 100 days = 452,000 visitors to the Philharmonie

It is now (April 23rd 2015) 100 days since the Philharmonie de Paris first opened, and subscriptions for the second season have already gone on sale
. Attendance figures indicate that beyond the novelty effect, this new establishment has made quite an impact in the Paris cultural landscape, thanks to the architecture of the two buildings, the acoustics of the concert halls and the rich and varied programme, which is accessible to all
.

1/ FIRST 100 DAYS IN FIGURES

• 203,000 people have attended a concert (paid tickets): 157,000 in the large auditorium of Philharmonie 1, and 46,000 in the two auditoriums of the Cité de la Musique-Philharmonie 2. The average seating capacity achieved was 95% (97% for the large auditorium and 89% for the two smaller auditoriums).

• 64,000 people took part in an educational activity aimed primarily at families and young people: family concerts, participative concerts, shows for young people, musical awareness classes for babies (3+ months), practical music workshops, children’s orchestras, activities at the media library, pre-concert talks, lectures..
.

• 135,000 people visited either a temporary exhibition or the permanent collection of the Musée de la Musique, including 103,000 visitors for Bowie is (since March 3) and 10,000 visitors for the Pierre Boulez exhibition (since March 17).

• 50,000 people attended or took part in a free-access activity, such as an open rehearsal, a “carte blanche” concert by an established conductor, or a public workshop. 30,000 of these visitors flocked to the open days on January 17 and 18.

2/ NEW SEASON 2015/2016

2015/16 will be the first full season at the Philharmonie, running from September 2015 to July 2016.

RESIDENT AND PARTNER ORCHESTRAS

The Philharmonie has two resident orchestras: the Orchestre de Paris (see photo) and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, and three partner orchestras: the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France and Les Arts Florissants.

GUEST ORCHESTRAS

The Philharmonie also maintains special relationships with the greatest international orchestras. The Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle will perform all of Beethoven’s symphonies, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Riccardo Chailly will counterpose Mozart and Strauss, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Yannick Nézet-Séguin will play a Mendelssohn cycle.

Major American orchestras from Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles and San Francisco also feature in the upcoming season, as do French orchestras, with the National Orchestras of Toulouse, Lille and Lyon coming to Paris to delight audiences.

INTERNATIONAL SOLOISTS

A wide range of soloists, including Marta Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli, Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Florès, Hélène Grimaud, Anne Sophie Mutter, Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia, Rolando Villazon and Yo-Yo Ma.

FROM BAROQUE TO CONTEMPORARY

All repertoires are represented, from baroque to contemporary, with John Eliot Gardiner, Jordi Savall, René Jacobs, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Arvo Pärt and Luigi Nono given pride of place this season. A special tribute will be paid to the composer Henri Dutilleux.

CHAMBER MUSIC

Chamber music enthusiasts will be sure not to miss the 7th String Quartet Biennale, featuring all of Shostakovich’s quartets and many commissioned works by composers of today.

JAZZ, POP, ROCK, WORLD..
.

The Philharmonie does not restrict itself to classical music. The auditoriums can change configuration to offer the best conditions and acoustics for audiences to enjoy jazz, pop, rock and world music. This season will see artists including Avishai Cohen, Jacques Higelin, Ibrahim Maalouf, Emily Loizeau, John Cale, Television, Angelique Kidjo and Kadim Al Sahir.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS

The Philharmonie is developing multidisciplinary projects. There will be a number of evenings combing music and image, highlights of which include film composer Alexandre Desplat conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, a tribute to David Lynch, and film-concerts featuring Chaplin, Pixar studios and experimental films by Andy Warhol
.

The upcoming season will see two major exhibitions. The first will focus on Marc Chagall and the influence and place of music in his work. The second will be devoted to The Velvet Underground.

3/ PHILHARMONIE LIVE

The Philharmonie audiovisual platform is free to access over the internet, and is unique in range and quality. 256,000 people have viewed retransmissions of concerts since mid-January, either live or recorded, on the website live.philharmoniedeparis.fr. This audiovisual platform extends the reach of our new music venue across France and the whole world.

The Philharmonie de Paris regularly broadcasts concerts live, such as all the opening concerts and, more recently, those conducted by Gustavo Dudamel (Beethoven and Wagner) and John Eliot Gardiner (Bach’s Mass in B minor) and the concerts given by The Divine Comedy and Tindersticks.

The next live broadcasts will be the concerts given by the New York Philharmonic on April 25 and 26.

Visitors to the website can also watch interviews with artists, as well as view archives recorded at the Cité de la Musique over the last twenty years.

Concerts are available for streaming between four and six months after initial broadcast.

www.philharmoniedeparis.fr