Opened 2009 | Phone +61 3 9699 3333 | |
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Owner Melbourne Recital Centre Ltd. (Government of Victoria) Type Concert and Recital Hall Architect Ashton Raggatt McDougall Address 31 Sturt St, Southbank VIC 3006, Australia Capacity 1,000 (Elisabeth Murdoch Hall) Similar Hamer Hall - Melbourne, The Arts Centre - Melbourne, Malthouse Theatre - Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Centre for the Movin Profiles | ||
Melbourne recital centre and southbank theatre
Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for ensemble music in Melbourne, programming and presenting in excess of 450 concerts and events each year across a variety of musical genres - including classical, jazz, popular, cabaret and world music. It is Melbourne's second largest auditorium for classical music (after Hamer Hall in The Arts Centre). It was opened in 2009, as part of the Melbourne Recital Centre and Southbank Theatre complex, and is located on the corner of Southbank Boulevard and Sturt Street in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, Southbank.
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Facilities
The centre features two auditoria, the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, and a smaller venue known as the Salon. The former, a "modified shoe box" shaped music venue, is named after Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. It has seating for 1000 on two levels and was designed by Ashton Raggatt McDougall with acoustic and theatre consulting by Arup.
The 135 m2 (1,450 sq ft) stage, with optional 51 m2 (550 sq ft) extension is designed to accommodate up to 45-65 musicians, making it well suited to chamber music and other small ensemble music. To eliminate noise from the nearby Southbank Boulevard cars and trams, it is surrounded by 250mm of concrete, mounted on 38 steel springs. The interior is lined with Hoop Pine plywood and is designed to give ideal bass response for cello and low brass.
The Salon, a flexible venue, can seat 136 people. The lighting, seating and stage can be configured to suit the performance.
Building awards
Melbourne Recital Centre and MTC Theatre complex won the Moore Stephens National Award for Public Buildings at the Property Council of Australia – the country's highest award for a public building. The complex also won the Victorian Architecture Medal, the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture and the Joseph Reed Award for Urban Design at the Australian Institute of Architects State Architecture Awards in 2009.