Inside Sibelius Hall

Back on a cold and wet day on 7th September last year, I blipped the famous Sibelius Hall exterior, here in Lahti, Finland. Once again my second cameraman Markus took me to the Hall when work was done for the day. It was a day of brilliant sunshine and this time we got a private tour of the uniquely beautiful interior of this magnificent Concert Hall.

Larger pipes.

The Sibelius Hall is named after Jean Sibelius and was completed in 2000 and is made of wood. The concert hall has a capacity of 1,229 seats. It is the largest wooden structure built in Finland in the last 100 years.

It is situated by the beautiful lake Vesijärvi, walking distance from the Lahti city centre. Its architects, Hannu Tikka and Kimmo Lintula, explained that the main source of inspiration in the design was the Finnish forests.

The sophisticated colouring of the Main Hall is a combination of graphite-grey, natural white, and the warm red of old string instruments. The floor is oil-and heat-treated smoke birch parquet.

Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic period. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity.

The organ for the Sibelius Hall was built in the French Romantic style, and its majestic, full-bodied sound is enriched by the hall's excellent acoustic characteristics. This organ has approximately 4,500 pipes.

(PS. Hand held at 1/13th I was so lucky to get away with this shot, saved by the high ISO.)