8- Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK
The Bridgewater Hall held its first performance in September 1996 and now has three resident orchestras: the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic and Manchester Camerata.
Did you know that the new concert halls are almost silent giving the opportunity to the musicians to draw their listeners in with incredibly quiet playing?
The breathing and fidgeting of the audience actually creates more sound than other background noises. Only in intense moments where the audiences collectively hold its breath, can this deep silence be heard.
On 15 June 1996, an IRA bomb broke virtually every window in the city center. The hall was so well isolated that construction workers inside the auditorium did not hear the explosion.
