Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall


Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall is a concert hall in Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The name is coined from music and za lit. 'seat'. The vineyard-style concert hall, with a capacity of 1,997, was built for the eightieth anniversary of the foundation of the city.
The hall opened in July, 2004 with a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. In that year the orchestra, previously without a permanent home, took up residence. Well known for its acoustics, the hall has seen concerts by Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic. The bell to announce the imminent start of a concert at the hall is a recording of the bell at Salzburg Cathedral.

Tōhoku earthquake and 2-year closure of hall

Despite being over three hundred kilometres from the epicentre, the hall was greatly damaged in the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. The ceiling collapsed. Much of the acoustical paneling and related material was destroyed. Ruptures to the automatic fire-sprinkler system caused widespread water damage. As a result, the hall was closed. Performances during much of 2011 were cancelled. Those sufficiently far into the future at the time of the disaster were rescheduled for other Kawasaki and neighboring-city venues, still under the auspices of Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall. A plan for repair and reconstruction was established. Funds were secured, partly from government sources. A fund-raising concert at the Salzburger Festspiele with Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala, and Ivor Bolton conducting the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg helped raise additional money. The restored hall is expected to open on 1 April 2013.

Construction