Auditorium Bordeaux

The Auditorium Bordeaux, opened on 24 January 2013 to designs by French architect Michel Pétuaud-Létang, is the most recent major concert hall in France and home to the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine. Set in the Belcier district south of Saint-Jean station, between Place Renaudel and Boulevard Albert 1er, it complements the neighbouring Grand Théâtre and the city's opera house with a dedicated concert venue of the highest technical standard. The auditorium follows the vineyard principle: 1,440 seats surround the centrally placed stage in rising terraces — a model originating with Hans Scharoun's Berlin Philharmonie that affords the audience maximum proximity to the orchestra. The acoustics were tuned by Studio DAP, one of the most respected European acoustic engineering firms; the hall ranks acoustically among France's finest, alongside the Philharmonie de Paris and the Auditorium de Lyon. Distinctive wood panelling in local oak shapes both the auditorium and the foyer. In addition to the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, which performs its season here, French and international orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, the Munich Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra appear regularly. Programming spans symphonic and chamber music to jazz and world music; the annual "L'Été Métropolitain" festival uses the hall as a central venue. Concerts are sometimes broadcast as part of the Concert symphonique series on France Musique.