Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra

Overview

Situated in the heart of Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, the newly reconstructed concert hall of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra (LVSO), formerly known as the Vilnius Congress and Concert Hall VCCH, opened its doors to visitors in March this year. Equipped to the latest standards and featuring exceptional acoustics, specifically adapted to symphonic music, the venue is poised to become one of the most attractive concert spaces not only in Lithuania, but across all the Baltic countries.

Program

The project, conceived in 2018, involved designer Marius Mateika and the services of Lithuanian architectural and building acoustic company Akustika Plius, which collaborated with ADA Acoustics & Media Consultants GmbH (a WSDG Company), along with construction company INFES. Their joint efforts were instrumental in bringing the old hall up to world-class acoustical standards suitable for a symphony orchestra.

Design

In 2018, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert, founding director of ADA Acoustics & Media Consultants GmbH, visited the old hall and recognised the need for fundamental reconstruction alongside conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius. Their collaboration with Akustika Plius and architect Marius Mateika led to the meticulous consideration of various acoustic indicators, necessitating a significant redesign.

During the project, ADA-AMC had to consider a lot of different acoustic indicators and criteria. These included reverberation time, music and speech clarity, warmth of sound, as well as the mutual hearing of musicians and density of lateral reflections.

Ahnert worked closely with colleague Tobias Behrens to create simulations using the EASE software program. These were then passed to Viktoras Mekas and fellow acoustics consultant and architect at Akustika Plius, Gintare Privediene, who collaborated with Mateika and the construction company on what was necessary from an architectural viewpoint.

The first stage of the project involved fundamentally changing the design of the hall, convincing the client to add extra volume to the 984-seat concert hall by raising the roof. In line with amphitheatre principles, a stage with two movable raisers was installed, along with new lighting and ventilation systems.

The next stage was focused on the so-called secondary structure of the hall. Three-dimensional acoustic patterns were integrated on the ceiling and walls, combining rhombuses, triangles, rib panels, and smooth acoustic panels to diffuse sound reflections and ensure even distribution across the entire hall.

Following extensive work carried out by all the team members involved in this remarkable project, the concert hall opened its doors on Saturday, 16th March, with an evening of performances by the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, the Kaunas State Choir, the Lithuanian National Opera Theater Choir, the Boys and Youth Choir ‘Ažuoliukas’, and several other Lithuanian soloists.

With the venue filled beyond capacity, yet still maintaining its exceptional sound quality, Rinkevičius described the opening evening as “historical”, noting that it was a “very important event for Lithuanian musical culture, as well as Lithuanian culture in general.”

Photographer credit: Gabrielius Jauniškis