Philharmonie Essen

The Philharmonie Essen occupies the Saalbau beside the city's Stadtgarten. An earlier concert building opened on the site in 1864; its replacement was inaugurated in September 1904 with Richard Strauss conducting. The Saalbau hosted the premiere of Mahler's Sixth Symphony in 1906. Severely damaged in 1943, it was rebuilt after the war and reopened in 1950. A further reconstruction from 2002 to 2004 created the present Philharmonie, inaugurated on 4 June 2004. The complex is a concert home of the Essener Philharmoniker and presents visiting ensembles and soloists. Essen's Saalbau served as the city's civic concert building for decades before it took its present name; after a thorough refurbishment it reopened as the Philharmonie Essen. The house is home to the Essener Philharmoniker and forms the concert wing of the city's combined theatre and philharmonic organisation, with a large hall for symphonic and choral work and smaller rooms for chamber music and recitals. Visiting orchestras, early-music ensembles and gala evenings — tenor programmes among them — share its season with the resident players.