Auditorium Maurice-Ravel

Concert Hall in Lyon, France

45°45′41.80″N 4°51′9.91″E / 45.7616111°N 4.8527528°E / 45.7616111; 4.8527528InauguratedFebruary 14th, 1975Technical detailsMaterialPrestressed concrete & SteelDesign and constructionArchitect(s)Charles Delfante & Henry PottierOther informationSeating capacity2,100ParkingYesWebsitehttp://www.auditorium-lyon.comReferenceshttp://www.auditorium-lyon.com/Le-lieu/L-Auditorium

The Maurice Ravel Auditorium is a concert hall located in Part-Dieu, the 3rd district of Lyon. It was originally built for the National Orchestra of Lyon and is their residence hall.^[1] It is also one of the first buildings in France to be built with Prestressed concrete.^[2]

Acoustics

The building was built without an acoustic study which resulted in the volume being too low for symphonic purposes, with a reflective concave back wall. The stage had no lateral walls, which resulted in the musicians struggling to hear one another. The wall was eventually treated to prevent strong echoes. Eventually a Phillips acoustic enhancement system was fitted to help with sound coverage and reverberation.^[2]

The Organ

In 1878 the renowned French organ builder, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, was commissioned to build a concert organ for the Trocadéro concert hall, under the supervision of renowned organist and composer Alexandre Guilmant. Because of the time constraints of the contract he did not have time to build one from scratch and had to use an uncompleted three-manual organ originally intended for the Church of Notre Dame in Auteuil, a district in the northwestern area of Paris, as the basis for the new instrument. The organ moved to the Palais de Chaillot when the Trocadéro was demolished and was ultimately bought by the government of Lyon for the Auditorium.^[3]

References

^ "Maurice-Ravel Auditorium: 40 years of daring and 40,000 tons of concrete". Leprogres. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b Asselineau, Marc (2015). Building Acoustics. Routledge. ISBN 9781466582446.
^ Nichol, Tom. "The Organ of the Maurice Ravel Auditorium In Lyon, France" (PDF). michaelsmusicservice. Retrieved 19 September 2019.