Schubert at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg

On Thursday I was at the Laeiszhalle to hear a Schubert concert conducted by Guy Braunstein.  Most of the work they played was new to me and I suddenly realised what a small part of Schubert we normally hear.  Of the five Lieder sung by baritone Mattias Goerne, the only one I knew was the Erlkönig.

The Laeiszhalle has excellent acoustics and it was such a pleasure hearing every note of all of the orchestra.

The Laeiszhalle Hamburg

Laeiszhalle, Hamburg

The Laeiszhalle (pronounced lie-ss-ha-le), home of the Hamburg Symphony is named after the Hamburg businessman Reeder Carl Laeisz, who left 1.2m German marks in his will to fund a 'music hall' in Hamburg. His widow made the sum up to 2 million Marks. Opened in 1908, this Baroque revival building was one of the few public buildings that survived the second world war intact. Luckily, because it has wonderful acoustics.

Since the opening of the now-famous Elbphilharmonica, new home of the Hamburg Philharmonica and completely sold out until 2019, the Laeiszhalle has enjoyed an increased audience.

Inside the building are sculptures of Hamburg-born composers (including Brahms) and standing outside the building in Johannes Brahms' Platz is a big granite block with the Title Homage to Brahms' created in 1981 by Thomas Darboven. The face of Johannes Brahms at four different ages is carved into its four sides.