Your favourite recording venues

[Sid]

Having collected recordings for a while now, the names of some recording venues around the world pop up quite regularly. Here are some of the ones I like:

Abbey Road Studios, London - Everyone has recorded here, from Horowitz to the Beatles & beyond. This is one of the best recording studios in the world.

Salle Wigram, Paris - I have Rostropovich's classic account of the Dutilleux and Lutoslawski cello concertos made in this venue, and the acoustic is superb. I also have a Cziffra recording of the Liszt piano concertos, but the engineering on that doesn't seem to be half as good as the Rostropovich (although they were made at roughly the same time).

Sofiensaal, Vienna - This venue was famous for classic chamber recordings and was the place where Solti recorded his classic Mahler discs in the 1960's. I say was because it burnt to the ground some years ago and I'm not sure what's happening to the site now. I read that the hall had a swimming pool underneath, which apparently improved the acoustic.

Italian Institute, Budapest - Reputedly the best acoustic in that city, this hall has been used for some Naxos recordings. I have pianist Jeno Jando's account of the Bartok piano concertos made in this venue, and they sound very good.

Eugene Goosens Hall, ABC Centre, Sydney - Many of the classical recordings coming out of the ABC have been recorded in this venue, which is a concert hall and recording studio. Many recordings and radio broadcasts are made there. This is one of the top acoustics in the country, and I have recordings of pianists Stephanie McCallum and Kathryn Selby made there which are excellent. I have gone there to a number of concerts and recitals.

So, what are some of your favourite recording venues? Which recordings made at these places do you like the most? Have you been to any of these places, maybe for a performance, or just as part of a tour to look around?

[petrarch]

Espace de Projection, IRCAM, where numerous recordings made by the Ensemble Intercontemporain were made.

Großer Saal, Experimentalstudio, SWR, Freiburg, where a lot of Nono's late works (and quite a few other greats) were composed and prepared.

Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, NYC, a good venue for concerts especially after the renovation of a few years back. I attended concerts such as Boulez's Répons, Feldman's 2nd String Quartet and other 20th Century greats. Not sure it was used for recordings though.

And we can't really forget the sheer number of historical and present recordings made at Donaueschingen, as part of the Donaueschinger Musiktage and its various halls.

[Daverz]

Troy Music Hall, Troy, New York.

Carnegie Hall

Symphony Hall, Boston

Walthamstow Town Hall (not sure if this exists anymore)

Sofiensaal (burned down in 2001)

Concertgebouw