Germany’s Bamberg Concert Hall, home of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, requires significant renovations that will cost at least 60 million marks ($33.3 million) and may temporarily close parts of the hall to concerts, according to a city announcement.
The city cited “structural deficits” due to the hall’s age, specifically the electroacoustic loudspeaker system (ELA), which is 30 years old and has 260,000 hours of operation. Officials said the city would begin a two-year feasibility study to clarify construction requirements and how they would impact the orchestra’s concerts.
“We owe our subscribers, who have often remained loyal to us for decades, reliable planning of concerts,” Bamberg Symphony President and CEO Marcus Rudolf Axt told inFranken.de. He added that state subsidies for the orchestra are “only possible if we can also work with top soloists and top conductors in Bamberg, who only come if we offer a concert hall with top acoustics.”
Bamberg Concert Hall opened in 1993 and hosts 270 to 280 events per year, regularly selling 95% of seats, according to officials.
