A house for & full of sound art

From permanent installations to temporary projects sound art has been playing an important role in the Concertgebouw for more than ten years.

In our building

From Pavel Büchler's 'Annunciation' and the pioneering 'Poème Electronique' (in our collection since 2003) in our building’s highest foyers, to interactive audience favourites 'Kilo Ohm' and 'Omni' and the bells of 'Bellen Spel' (Bell Play) on our roof terrace: sound art can be heard all over the Concertgebouw. Moreover, thanks to the Concertgebouw Circuit visitors trail, you not only get to listen to our entire collection, you also get to play it! TIP: With our brand-new audio guide, you’ll experience the sound art along your way even more intensely.

the collection

Discover our (sound) art and architecture

go exploring

In our programme

Some sound art installations are a permanent part of our collection, but we also have temporary projects and installations to illustrate the transience of the genre. Don't miss your chance to experience these fleeting moments!

on the agenda

DEEP LISTENING DAYS

deep listening in numerous listening forms and formats

Music, dance and sound art in the Concertgebouw!

In October 2011 we opened The Sound Factory, our sound art lab on the Lantern Tower’s fifth floor. Ten years later it is still a fount of creative sound art 25 metres above our city, but now such artful sounds have spread throughout our entire building, they even reverberate in our artistic programming. The message is clear: besides music and contemporary dance, the Concertgebouw is now firmly based on a pillar of sound art.

'It was high time that we took the next step and made sound art a central discipline.'

Jeroen Vanacker

From permanent installations – such as Edgar Varèse's Poème Electronique and The Sound Factory – to temporary projects – such as Janet Cardiff's The Forty Part Motet installation – sound art has been playing an important role in the Concertgebouw for more than ten years. It was therefore high time that we took the next step and made sound art a central discipline, with permanent and temporary installations and a diverse participation programme. Sound artists’ creativity inspires us and facilitates a deeper and more intense perception of the world around us. The result? Happy new ears (thank you John Cage!).

— Jeroen Vanacker, creative director

From permanent installations – such as Edgar Varèse's Poème Electronique and The Sound Factory – to temporary projects – such as Janet Cardiff's The Forty Part Motet installation – sound art has been playing an important role in the Concertgebouw for more than ten years. It was therefore high time that we took the next step and made sound art a central discipline, with permanent and temporary installations and a diverse participation programme. Sound artists’ creativity inspires us and facilitates a deeper and more intense perception of the world around us. The result? Happy new ears (thank you John Cage!).

— Jeroen Vanacker, creative director