Paris classical music row intensifies as new concert hall prepares to open

A computer-generated image of inside the Philharmonie de Paris, which is part of the state-run Cité de la Musique complex. The opening of a state-of-the-art concert hall in a top European city should be a cause for celebration. Not so in Paris, where the inauguration of the new Philharmonie, scheduled for 14 January, has been accompanied by stress and anger. The director of the Philharmonie de Paris has confessed to be plagued by sleepless nights over whether it will be able to make good on its bold promise to democratise classical music by moving the capital’s principal venue to the periphery of the city’s north-east. But his concerns have been dwarfed by protests following the decision to take classical music performances away from the Salle Pleyel, which has hosted concerts for well-heeled audiences for almost a century. The art-deco venue is owned by the state-run Cité de la Musique complex which the new Philharmonie is part of. The decision infuriated the Salle Pleyel’s f
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