Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
| Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall: Takemitsu Memorial 東京オペラシティ コンサートホール：タケミツ メモリアル | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | 3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo Opera City Tower (3F), Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan |
| Coordinates | 35°41′00″N 139°41′12″E / 35.683286°N 139.686549°E |
| Completed | Autumn 1996[1]: 347 |
| Opened | 10 September 1997[2] |
| Height | |
| Height | 27.6 metres (91 ft)[2] |
| Roof | stepped pyramidal ceiling[1]: 346 |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 41.4 metres (136 ft)[2] (length) 20.0 metres (65.6 ft)[2] (width) 15,300 m3 (540,000 cu ft)[3] (volume) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Yanagisawa Takahiko & TAK Associated Architects[3] |
| Architecture firm | NTT Facilities[2] Urban Planning and Design Institute[2] |
| Other designers | Leo Beranek & Takenaka Research & Development Institute (acoustic consultants)[2] |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 1,632[2] |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall (東京オペラシティ コンサートホール, Tōkyō Opera Shiti Konsāto Hōru) (TOCCH)[3] is a concert hall that opened in the 54-floor Tokyo Opera City Tower in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, in 1997. It is part of a complex that includes Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery [ja],[4] a recital hall,[5] and the New National Theatre, as well as shops and restaurants.[3] The hall's acoustic and architecture have been highly acclaimed by the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, András Schiff, and Kent Nagano.[1][6] TOCCH is dedicated to the memory of composer Takemitsu Tōru, artistic director of Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation and concept adviser, who died before its inauguration.[2]
Design and acoustics
[edit]The uniquely-shaped[3] rectangular hall has a pyramidal ceiling that starts its rise above the second balcony tier and reaches its highest point nearer to the stage than to the back of the hall, the long rear part being covered with quadratic-residue diffusors.[1]: 346 [3] Over the stage hangs a sloping 9.6 square metres (103 sq ft) sound-reflecting canopy with an irregular lower surface.[1]: 348
Studies for the acoustic design included those of the design and acoustic data of sixty-six concert halls in twenty-two countries, the taking of acoustic measurements in twenty-three halls in Japan, Europe, and the Americas, CAD modelling, and a 1:10 scale wooden model.[1]: 340 [7] Results from the last lead to alteration in the sloping of the balconies.[1]: 344
Aiming at the uniform distribution of sound sources on the stage to the seating areas in the auditorium, criteria analyzed included reverberation time (for a "singing tone" as at the Concertgebouw, Musikverein, and Boston Symphony Hall)[1]: 342 and early decay time (that relates to "clarity");[1]: 342, 353 interaural cross-correlation coefficient (differences in sound pressure at the two ears);[1]: 353 bass ratio (low- vs mid-frequency reverberation times);[1]: 353 initial time delay gap ("intimacy");[1]: 342 strength (sound pressure compared with that from a similar source in an anechoic chamber);[1]: 353 and sound diffusion index (homogeneity of sound).[1]: 342 [3]
Capacity
[edit]The hall seats 1,632 over three levels, 974 on the first, 356 on the second, and 302 on the third.[2] When occupied, the hall has a reverberation time of 1.95 seconds.[1]: 340 [2]
Pipe organ
[edit]The pipe organ, with 3,826 pipes and 54 stops, was a collaboration between Orgelbau Kuhn of Switzerland and Yamaha, under the overall supervision of Guy Bovet.[2]
Other instruments
[edit]The hall has three Steinway D-274 pianos and a Bösendorfer 290, a harpsichord by Reinhard von Nagel, and a 4-stop positive organ by Marc Garnier.[2]
Initial performances
[edit]A "tuning concert" with audience was held on 11 June 1997, the New Japan Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa performing Brahms Symphony No. 3, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, and Brahms Alto Rhapsody.[1]: 350 After slight modification,[1]: 350 the hall opened on 10 September with a performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion by the Saito Kinen Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, with the Emperor and Empress in attendance.[1]: 351 [2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Hidaka, Takayuki; Beranek, Leo L.; Masuda, Sadahiro; Nishihara, Noriko; Okano, Toshiyuki (2000). "Acoustical design of the Tokyo Opera City (TOC) concert hall, Japan". Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. pp. 340–54. doi:10.1121/1.428308.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall : Takemitsu Memorial". Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cavanaugh, William J.; Tocci, Gregory C.; Wilkes, Joseph A., eds. (2010). Architectural Acoustics: Principles and Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. pp. 257–259. ISBN 978-0-470-19052-4.
- ^ "Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery". Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ^ "Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall". Tokyo Opera City Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
- ^ Cox, Trevor (5 March 2015). "10 of the world's best concert halls". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ Beranek, Leo (2004). Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture (Second ed.). New York, NY: Springer. pp. 411–415. ISBN 978-1-4419-3038-5.