After a two-year pause, plans are again underway for the construction of a new concert hall in Munich.
Planning began in 2016, but the Bavarian cabinet agreed to a temporary pause in March 2022 to redesign the concert hall. What was initially intended as a billion-dollar project was redesigned to cost only millions. Prime Minister Markus Söder said that "We want to do a completely new plan instead of a re-planning." From $1.3 billion, the new hall will cost about half, and will be about a third smaller, with reduced office and storage spaces and underground parking, and will be constructed by only one contractor.
According to Minister of Arts Markus Blume: "A project of [that] size is not responsible in these times." He adds: "The heart of the project is an excellent concert hall. There will be a large concert hall for 1,900 people - with sufficient capacity, with the ability to accommodate a wide variety of orchestras, for the diversity of the entire music landscape of the Free State of Bavaria."
Not everyone is happy with the resumption of planning, however. Michael Piazolo of the Munich Free Voters criticized the opposing party's pause for lasting too long, during which time construction prices had risen. Katja Weitzel, spokeswoman for the SPD's cultural policy, is also critical, saying that Blume's promise to reduce the costs of the new Munich concert hall to 50 percent is on shaky ground," because 27 euros have already been spent by 2022.
Despite these budget cuts and criticism, Söder still envisions that the new concert hall "will become a jewel for Munich." It is set to become the home of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, whose chief conductor, Sir Simon Rattle, is also optimistic: "We all see the many challenges of our time. But the prospect of a house for music in the 21st century - with excellent acoustics as well as technological equipment that does justice to the world of today and tomorrow - makes me optimistic."
The new concert hall is set to be completed in 2034.
