Centre for Music, London

The Centre for Music was a proposed concert hall in the City of London. The City announced on 18 February 2021 that the project would not be progressed.[1][2]

Centre for Music
General information
StatusProposed
TypeConcert hall
LocationCity of London
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°31′03.74″N 0°05′48.51″W
Design and construction
Architecture firmDiller Scofidio + Renfro
Other information
Seating capacity2000

The plans included a 2000-seat, "world-class" auditorium, as well as other performance spaces, rehearsal rooms, education facilities, and four storeys of commercial space.[3][4][5] The proposed site was occupied by the Museum of London, which was due to move to Smithfield Market as part of a separate redevelopment plan.[6] The building would have been the new home of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), and would also have been used by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[4] It would have been run by the Barbican Centre.[7]

The estimated cost of £288m to build the centre would have needed to be raised entirely from private donations. The construction time was estimated at four years.[8]

History

Campaigning for the hall began in 2015 when Sir Simon Rattle, then considering joining the LSO as music director, said in an interview that London's concert halls were not up to international standards.[9][10][11] Rattle would later be appointed the LSO's music director.[12]

After meeting with Rattle, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne ordered a feasibility study for a new London concert hall, and committed £5.5 million to fund the development of a business case.[13][14]

In late 2015 the City of London Corporation agreed in principle to make the site available when the Museum of London moves to West Smithfield.[15]

In 2016 central government funding was withdrawn on the grounds that it did not offer value for money.[16]

The City of London Corporation then provided £2.5 million to establish a business case for the project, which was submitted in December 2018, and a further £2.49 million to continue the project’s development in 2019.[4] Concept designs by New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro were made public in January 2019.[6]

In March 2020 the City of London Corporation approved the spending of a further £1.95 million to enable work on the proposals to continue,[17] taking expenditure up to £6.8 million.[2]

In January 2021, Rattle announced he was leaving the LSO for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for personal reasons.[18] The next month it was announced that the project would not be progressed.[1] Martin Kettle of The Guardian wrote that "it was hard not to see it as an elite project" and that the Centre had been "a tough and questionable sell from the start".[19]

References
  1. "City of London Corporation puts culture at the heart of recovery". City of London Corporation. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  2. Lanre Bakare (18 February 2021). "City of London scraps plan for 'Tate Modern of classical music'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  3. "A first look at the designs for Square Mile's £288m Centre for Music". Evening Standard. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. "Centre for Music". www.culturemile.london. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  5. Wainwright, Oliver (21 January 2019). "Twist and shout: is this the Tate Modern for classical music?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. "Funding agreed for next stage of Centre for Music project". City of London Corporation. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  7. "First concept designs released for London Centre for Music project as next steps announced | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  8. Brown, Mark (21 January 2019). "First designs revealed for new £288m London concert hall". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  9. "Centre For Music designs unveiled as new 'world class' concert hall on site of London roundabout appeals for funding". ITV News. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  10. Brown, Mark (10 October 2017). "Plans for new London concert hall move step closer after architects announced". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  11. "Renowned conductor on London move". BBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  12. Mark Brown (3 March 2015). "Simon Rattle appointed music director of London Symphony Orchestra". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  13. "New London concert hall proposed". City of London Corporation. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  14. "George Osborne backs move for new concert hall for London". Evening Standard. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  15. Brown, Mark (16 December 2015). "Museum of London site recommended for proposed £278m concert hall". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  16. "Sadiq Khan condemns plans to pull funding for London concert hall". Evening Standard. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  17. "London Symphony Orchestra - City Corporation provides new funding for Centre for Music project". lso.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  18. Mark Brown (11 January 2021). "Simon Rattle to leave London Symphony Orchestra in 2023". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  19. Martin Kettle (19 February 2021). "Few will mourn the passing of London's great concert hall that never was". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2021.

51°31′03.74″N 0°05′48.51″W

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