In Amsterdam, the Dutch city of canals, no visit is complete without a stop at Museumplein. The square is home to the Van Gogh Museum, which holds one of the world's largest collections of the painter's work, and the Rijksmuseum, where Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" and Vermeer's "The Milkmaid" hang. Another landmark stands nearby: the Royal Concertgebouw, which opened in 1888.
Counted among the world's great concert halls, the Royal Concertgebouw commands attention not only for its acoustics but for an interior that is at once ornate and old-world. It also serves as the home of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO), one of the world's top ensembles. The two share a name but are separate organizations.
As Korean classical music has gained standing in recent years, the number of Korean musicians appearing on this stage has risen sharply. On Aug. 30 and 31, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra closed out a summer festival that had run through July and August. The concerts, led by Dutch star conductor Jaap van Zweden, sold out well in advance. Violinist Bomsori Kim performed as soloist, and the program included "Inferno" by Jung Jae-il, best known as the music director of "Squid Game." On the second night, Korean vocalists including soprano Choi Ji-eun, mezzo-soprano Lee A-kyung and tenor Son Ji-hoon joined Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the "Choral."
More Korean stars are lined up. Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang performs the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Netherlands Philharmonic on the 19th and 21st of this month. Cho Seong-jin appears with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on three consecutive nights, from the 23rd to the 25th, playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 under conductor Joana Mallwitz. The Sept. 25 date is part of the hall's "Essentials" series, aimed at younger audiences. On April 7 next year, Cho returns to the Concertgebouw's Main Hall with the Czech Philharmonic under Semyon Bychkov for Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.
Lim Yunchan will visit twice next year. He made his RCO debut in January of this year with Schumann's Piano Concerto under Jakub Hrůša, drawing a strong response and selling out both performances. On Jan. 7 next year he rejoins the RCO, this time under Iván Fischer, for Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2. The Concertgebouw called that debut "sensational" in announcing the return engagement. On March 14 he gives his first recital at the hall, playing Mozart sonatas in the Main Hall. Cho, too, performs Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Czech Philharmonic next April.
The Concertgebouw stages around 800 concerts a year. Its performance spaces include the Main Hall, which accommodates large orchestras, the Recital Hall for chamber music and the Choir Hall in the basement. The Recital Hall seats 425.
What made the venue a global destination is, above all, its sound. Simon Reinink, the Royal Concertgebouw's general director, met with Korean reporters in Amsterdam recently and said the hall combines precision and warmth in an unusual way. "You can hear each individual instrument on stage, and yet everything blends very well together," he said. "A kind of velvet layer wraps around that sound. This warmth is what makes the Concertgebouw special."
The Concertgebouw ranks with Vienna's Musikverein and Boston Symphony Hall as a venue renowned for acoustics. But the three sound different from one another. Of the Musikverein, Reinink said it is a marvelous hall but smaller than the Concertgebouw. "It is especially strong for Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and early Brahms, but with large-scale works like Mahler or Shostakovich you have to be careful the sound doesn't become too loud," he said. Boston Symphony Hall, built to scientific design, produces "very clear and precise sound," he said, though with "a little less warmth than the Concertgebouw."
One reason for the distinctive resonance lies in the structure behind the stage. In other halls, sound striking the rear wall reflects straight back toward the audience. At the Concertgebouw, an open space behind the orchestra lets the sound spread backward instead. That creates a rich sense of space, but it makes for a demanding stage for performers. "It is hard for a first violinist to properly hear the double basses," Reinink said. "They have to trust each other and follow the conductor precisely."
What is striking is that these acoustics were not the product of meticulous scientific calculation from the outset. Unlike Boston Symphony Hall, which drew on the full body of acoustical knowledge available at the time, the Concertgebouw was designed by Dolf van Gendt, an architect who had never built a concert hall. He looked to the old Gewandhaus in Leipzig and Vienna's Musikverein for reference, and revised the building's proportions during the design process. Later additions, including the installation of the organ and changes to the seating behind the stage, brought the acoustics to their present state. Reinink described the outcome as a lucky one that came together on the first try. "In golf terms, it's like a hole-in-one," he said.
Because the sound is so delicate, even small changes are approached with caution. When the hall is repainted, staff check whether the type of paint affects the sound. "Right after a fresh coat, the dust is gone and the sound is a bit brighter and clearer," Reinink said. "But after a few years, when dust has settled, the sound softens again." Audiences are part of the acoustics as well. Musicians playing in an empty Main Hall for the first time sometimes say it is "like a bathroom" because of the long reverberation, but the sound changes once nearly 2,000 listeners fill the seats. Summer clothing and heavy winter coats make a difference too.
In the Main Hall, the center of the second-floor balcony is considered the best spot for sound and sightlines alike. It is also where the Dutch royal family and distinguished guests sit. At the front of the ground floor, by contrast, the high stage can partly obscure the performers from view.
The Recital Hall, which mainly hosts chamber music, is a hidden gem in its own right. Van Zweden, recalling that he won a competition there as a teenager, praised it as a space with outstanding acoustics.
