Usher Hall
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The Usher Hall is a concert hall located on Lothian Road, Edinburgh, Scotland.
A landmark in the heart of Scotland's capital, for the best part of a century it has hosted some of the greatest concerts and events in the city. The building of the concert hall was funded by Andrew Usher, a whisky distiller (his father had developed blended whisky). Andrew Usher donated £100,000 to the city for the construction of a concert hall in 1896. It seats 2,900.
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[edit] The Architecture
The design and location of the site of the new building was left to the City Fathers and although, at 70, Andrew Usher wanted the "satisfaction of seeing it completed" his death in 1898 was still sixteen years before the hall was finally built. The choice of site had caused early delays but in 1910 an architectural competition was announced, seeking "dignified but simple" proposals for the hall.
The winning entry was a joint bid by Stockdale Harrison & Howard H Thomson of Leicester, selected from 133 entries. The style of the project was part of the contemporary backlash against the Victorian Gothic with a return to the classical features owing much to the Beaux-Arts style. On 19th July 1911, King George V and Queen Mary laid two memorial stones on the occasion of their first state visit after their coronation. This was a huge event attended by over a thousand people with scaffolding erected for spectators. The finished building was officially opened on 16th March 1914 with a celebratory concert featuring music from Handel and Bach, Hamish MacCunn, Wagner and Beethoven. The final cost of building the Usher Hall was £134,000.
The Usher Hall was, from the first, a striking, elegant and well loved building. Its curved walls were a fairly new architectural departure and this U-plan was only made possible by early 20th century developments in reinforced concrete. Up until the turn of the century, concert halls had been long rectangular boxes. Carnegie Hall in New York, designed in 1889 was a major innovation with the galleries wrapped around the interior. The famous dome was designed to reflect the curvature of the walls, not to give a domed interior which would have been disastrous acoustically.
The interior of the hall is adorned with decorative plaster panels and gilded medallions - the work of an Edinburgh sculptor, Harry Gamley. The figures represented reflect the Hall's Scottish character and honour figures in the world of music. The poets and songwriters include Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Allan Ramsay and R L Stevenson with the musical world represented by, among others, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Brahms, Grieg and Rubinstein. Harry Gamley's work also features on the outside of the building with two colossal figures representing Musical Inspiration and Achievement. Four figures by Crossland McClure depict, "Municipal Beneficence The Soul of Music" (carrying a lyre), "The Music of the Sea" (with a shell to her ear) and "The Music of the Woods" (with a bird in her hand).
[edit] Social History
From the start, the Usher Hall was used for more than concerts. The letting record through the years reflects the concerns of the day. Politics and religion caused much anxiety over the years with arguments erupting over Sunday usage, suitability of event organisers and sectarian issues. In 1914 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith gave a speech entitled The War, using the occasion to recruit from the all-male audience. May Day celebrations in 1921 were not allowed to take place for fear of the Red Menace, as the assembled audience would have been singing The Red Flag. Also in 1921 a refusal for an appearance from the Archbishop of Melbourne resulted in 4000 people assembling in protest at St Patrick's Church in the Cowgate.
At various times the musical and the political overlapped, on occasions such as fundraising concerts for the Republican movement in Spain in the 1930s and at sexcentenary celebrations of the foundation of the City Of Edinburgh in 1929. The end to political rallies in the Usher Hall came after a serious incident in 1934. On 1st June 2800 people had come to hear Sir Oswald Mosely speak. The crowds included 387 blackshirts. Between five and six thousand people protested outside and the occasion reached near riot proportions. Buses on the Lothian Road were stoned and one blackshirt lost an eye. In 1958 the Labour Party considered holding their conference at the Usher Hall but were put off by the anti-smoking policy!
A variety of other uses have been considered for the Hall over the years. Sport has often featured as a possibility. In the early 1950s, end of season concerts for Hearts and Hibs football fans were held (one featuring Johnny Beattie) but the Hall was also considered as a venue for wrestling competitions. In 1986 the Commonwealth Games came to Edinburgh with the Usher Hall providing the venue for the Boxing Tournament.
Various proposals to use the Hall as a cinema were considered but it seems that no action was taken. The earliest example was the request to screen Cecil B. De Mille's The King of Kings in 1928, a silent film accompanied by an orchestra. The extensive basement rooms of the Usher Hall made the building ideal for use as an air-raid shelter and the venue was equipped for use during the war years. However, there are no records of it being used as such, but painted signs on internal doors, such as "No Dogs" indicate that preparations were made.
Still owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, the Usher Hall continues to play a key role in the city's civic life. Recently, the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony and the Colin O'Riordan Memorial Concert have taken place here along with occasions such as the Scottish Business Achievement Awards lunch attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. Freedom of the City ceremonies have taken place at the hall over the years, with the most recent being for film star and Scottish icon Sir Sean Connery in 1991.
[edit] Musical History
For the best part of a century, a galaxy of stars have dazzled Usher Hall audiences. Everyone from Herbert von Karajan to Claudio Abbado, from Ella Fitzgerald to Elton John and from Stephane Grapelli to Simple Minds have graced the stage. The Hall echoes not only with music, but with stories of comedians and divas, rock chicks and impressarios. From Bing Crosby who turned up with his golf trolley, Jesseye Norman who got stuck in the dressing room bath, conductors who needed electric heaters warming their every step to soloists commanding audiences to keep quiet, the Hall has seen them all.
Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Joan Armstrong and Jools Holland are only a handful of performers who have brought glamour to the city and been attracted by the warmth of Edinburgh audiences. In March 1972 the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Hall. The New Seekers provided the British entry and were mobbed by fans on Lothian Road. (The entry from Luxembourg won!).
The Usher Hall's prestige as a platform for internationally renowned classical music owes much to its link with the Edinburgh International Festival. From Vienna Philharmonic under Bruno Walter at the first festival in 1947 to the present day, all the world's greatest orchestras and most of its major maestros and soloists have performed here. Its superb acoustics have proven an attraction to them all, allowing the intimacy of a lieder to carry as well as a Mahler Symphony. The Hall's own International Classics Series continues the tradition of hosting internationally renowned orchestras and soloists throughout the year.
The Usher Hall is also the Edinburgh home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra who play every Friday night during their season. The Hall regularly welcome the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and local organisations such as the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and the Kevock Choir.
Many local people have also had the chance to appear "live at the Usher Hall" as part of the school concerts which have taken place over the years. Recent refurbishment has allowed rock and pop promoters to benefit from the increased capacity of the promenade facility with bands such as Travis and the Stereophonics performing to capacity crowds.
[edit] The Organ
The Usher Hall's organ is one of its chief glories. The strong Victorian tradition of choral and organ music continued to flourish at the time of the Hall's construction and even a small city like Edinburgh sustained at least three organ building businesses.
The organ was designed to be the focal point of the Hall, not just visually but musically. By 1912, the city was ready to find the best candidate to build the organ and after extensive investigation, Norman & Beard of London was awarded the contract. The original organ, installed late in 1913 was of outstanding quality and design, constructed on the grandest scale with a Spanish mahogany case built by Adam Currie of Edinburgh.
The significance of the organ to the Usher Hall is acknowledged and cherished by the Usher Hall Organ Trust. The Trust raised some £565,000 to restore the organ with generous support from individuals, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, the City of Edinburgh Council and a lottery grant from the Scottish Arts Council.
In spring 2002 the vast job of re-installing the organ began after over a year of restoration in the care of renowned company Harrison & Harrison. The organ had been carefully dismantled into hundreds of separate parts and placed around the Durham workshops in rooms dedicated to different aspects of the organ restorer's craft. Using the most traditional techniques and tools, original materials such as traditional glue and reclaimed ivory, skilled craftsmen have treated, cleaned and restored every inch of the original instrument. The blower room which powers the organ has also been completely renewed and humidity controls installed.
The restoration work took three years to complete and the organ was reinstall during 2002. The organ was reinaugrated on the 7th June 2003 in a celebrity concert recital with Dame Gillian Weir. A special commission The Rise of the House of Usher was written with funding from Scottish Arts Council and performed at the inauguration concert. Besides being involved in concert work the organ will also serve as a vital educational tool for the city.
In December 2002, John Kitchen was appointed as the city organist with performance and curatorial duties for the organ. Since the reinception of the organ it has been used in concerts and recitals by resident and visiting orchestras and ensembles. It has performed well on all occasions and attracted considerable attention.
[edit] Refurbishment and Recent History
On April 13th 1986 during Tony Bennett's concert, a large piece of plaster fell 130 feet from the roof into the auditorium. Only three chairs were damaged, but this memorable event was just one example of the state of disrepair into which Usher Hall was falling. Vital repairs were necessary to make the building wind-proof, watertight and safe. In 1998 the City of Edinburgh announced tremendous commitment to the Hall by earmarking £9 million of funds for Phase One refurbishment. Over the next two years all electrical systems were fully renewed and heating and ventilation systems installed. Repairs to the ceiling and complete redecoration of the auditorium and foyer areas were carried out including new seating. A major change was also made which would assist the management in programming more diverse productions - a promenade facility was created by excavating an underground chair store where removable stalls seating can be stored.
World famous tenor Jose Carreras sang at the inaugural concert in December 2000, raising funds for leukaemia research. 2001 saw the arrival of a new General Manager at Usher Hall and the staff team was expanded to help fulfil the aspirations of the Hall's new business plan. In May 2001 the Usher Hall was used for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, whilst the Church's own Assembly Hall was being used by Scottish Parliament. In 2002 plans for the essential second phase of refurbishment have come together and a Fundraiser appointed to raise the further £11 million required to make Usher Hall into a venue fit for the 21st century and beyond.
