- Usher Hall
The Usher Hall is a
concert hall located in the centre ofEdinburgh ,Scotland .It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1896. The building of the hall was funded by
Andrew Usher , awhisky distiller, who donated £100,000 to the city specifically to fund a new concert hall.Design
The location and design of the new building was left to Edinburgh City Council. The choice of site caused early delays but in 1910 an architectural competition was announced.
The winning bid (one of 130 entries) came from Stockdale Harrison & Howard H Thomson of
Leicester . The design was partly a backlash againstVictorian Gothic , with a return to classical features owing much to the Beaux-Arts style. On 19th July 1911, George V and Queen Mary laid two memorial stones, an event attended by over a thousand people.Its curved walls were unusual for the time, and were made possible by developments in
reinforced concrete . The dome was designed to reflect the curvature of the walls, not to give a domed interior (which could have been acoustically problematic).The finished building was officially opened on 16th March 1914 with a concert featuring music by Handel, Bach, Wagner, Beethoven and the
Scottish composerHamish MacCunn .The final cost of building the Usher Hall was £134,000. Andrew Usher died before building work was started.
Interior
The interior of the hall is adorned with decorative plaster panels by the Edinburgh sculptor Harry Gamley. The figures depicted in these panels show figures from the world of music, as well as famous Scots. These include:
Sir Walter Scott ,Robert Burns , Allan Ramsay,R L Stevenson ,Johann Sebastian Bach ,George Frideric Handel ,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ,Johannes Brahms ,Edvard Grieg andAnton Rubinstein . Harry Gamley's work also features on the outside of the building with two large figures representing Inspiration and Achievement, as well as another three figures by Crossland McClure depicting "the Soul of Music", "Music of the Sea" and "Music of the Woods".ocial history
The Usher Hall has been used for a variety of events, including politics, religion, charity fundrasers and sport, as well as music. In 1914 Prime Minister
H. H. Asquith gave a speech entitled "the War", using the occasion to recruit from the all-male audience.At various times the musical and the political overlapped, on occasions such as fundraising concerts for the Republican movement in
Spain in the 1930s and sexcentenary celebrations of the foundation of the City of Edinburgh in 1929. The end to political rallies in the Usher Hall came after a serious incident in 1934, when SirOswald Mosely came to speak. Between five and six thousand people protested outside, and several people were injured.In 1986 the
Commonwealth Games came to Edinburgh with the Usher Hall providing the venue for the boxing tournament.The extensive basement rooms of the Usher Hall made the building ideal for use as an
air-raid shelter and the venue was equipped for use during theSecond World War . However, there are no records of it being used as such, but painted signs on internal doors, such as "No Dogs" indicate that preparations were made.Musical history
As a platform for international classical musicians, the Usher Hall hosted the
Vienna Philharmonic underBruno Walter at the first festival in 1947.The Usher Hall is also the Edinburgh home of the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra who play regularly during their season. TheScottish Chamber Orchestra ,Scottish Fiddle Orchestra ,National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and local organisations such as the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and the Kevock Choir also regularly appear.A variety of people have performed at the Usher Hall, including
Herbert von Karajan ,Claudio Abbado ,Kate Bush ,Ella Fitzgerald ,Elton John ,Stephane Grapelli ,Bing Crosby ,Simple Minds ,Travis andStereophonics .In March 1972 the
Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Hall, with the British entry sung byThe New Seekers .The organ
A major feature of the Usher Hall is the organ. It was built in 1913 by Norman & Beard of
Norwich , and was designed to be the focal point of the Hall, both visually and musically.The significance of the organ to the Usher Hall is demonstrated by the existence of the Usher Hall Organ Trust, who helped raise funds to restore the organ.
The restoration work took three years to complete and the organ was reinstalled in 2002. The organ was re-inaugrated on the 7th June 2003 in a celebratory concert recital by
Gillian Weir .Present day
Still owned and managed by the Edinburgh City Council, the Usher Hall is still in constant use. As well as being one of the main venues for the
Edinburgh International Festival , other events have been held, such as the "Holocaust Memorial Ceremony" and the "Colin O'Riordan Memorial Concert".Freedom of the City ceremonies have taken place at the hall over the years, with the most recent being for film star and Scottish iconSir Sean Connery in 1991.On April 13th 1986 during a concert, a large piece of plaster fell 130 feet from the roof into the auditorium. Only three chairs were damaged, but this event was just one example of the state of disrepair into which the Hall was falling. Vital repairs were necessary to make the building wind-proof, watertight and safe. In 1998 the City of Edinburgh announced it had put aside £9 million to start the refurbishment.
In 2002 plans for a second phase of refurbishment were announced with plans to raise the further £11 million required. In 2007 work on the second phase began, which will provide improved facilities and public spaces, including the construction of a new glass wing.
ee also
*
List of concert halls External links
* [http://www.usherhall.co.uk Usher Hall]
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