Discover the Cite de la musique

The Paris Philharmonic : a benchmark centre in Paris as from 2012

A strong architectural statement for an ambitious arts project The project of a new Philharmonic as an extension of the Cité de la musique at La Villette will equip Paris with a large auditorium to defend the future of the symphony repertoire in France, give new impetus to orchestral ensembles, forge new relationships with the public and draw larger international audiences.

Designed by architect Jean Nouvel and contract managed by a provisional association, this new facility will consist of a 2,400-seat auditorium, several rehearsal rooms, a large exhibition space and a major educational centre. There are also plans for food & beverage services and shops.

As from October 2012, the new venue will host 250 symphonic concerts, including 50 concerts with a “popular” repertoire (jazz, world music, song) and some 50 educational concerts aiming at an attendance of 500 to 600,000 spectators per year. Through this twinning with the Cité de la musique, approximately 1,000,000 people are expected each year on the Villette site.

The primary objective of the Philharmonic project is the dissemination of music with a strong focus on transmission. A proactive policy will be led so as not to limit the hall’s activity to concerts and performances alone. It is the only way to ensure renewed audiences for the future.
The Paris Philharmonic will adopt approaches already used at the Cité de la musique for traditional music (cf. hands-on music workshops) and new technologies (at the Media Library). It will serve as an extension of them by putting them on a large scale and adding an introduction to symphony orchestra repertoires (little developed at the Cité de la musique, which focuses more on the learning of non-Western music).
Its education project will feature various initiatives which may or may not involve orchestras and choirs in residence, held over varying periods of time (one-off sessions, cycles, projects lasting several months) with a greater or lesser number of participants (ranging from a small class for a specific project to a large number of students for discovery sessions).

www.philharmoniedeparis.com