★An easy-to-read, visually delightful encyclopedia of concert halls—a duet between architecture and music! Written in a narrative style, it dissects the subtle interplay among space, materials, and sound, appealing to music and architecture enthusiasts, urban planners concerned with municipal and economic development needs, and cultural tourists seeking fresh experiences.

★It serves as a “portable” map of Europe’s acoustic landscapes, offering a fully enhanced journey through time and culture. Eighty world-class venues are thoughtfully organized along three major historical threads: from the classical repertoires of courtly aristocratic theaters, to the vibrant, high-energy summer music festivals, and finally to the marvels of contemporary acoustics and technology. With each turn of the page, readers traverse three centuries of history.

★The book features forewords by three renowned figures: Italian architect and Pritzker Prize laureate Renzo Piano, who was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for his contributions to the preservation of Genoa’s historic city center; Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony; and Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, who has served as chief acoustician for more than 50 prestigious projects worldwide, including Walt Disney Concert Hall, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Bard College Performing Arts Center in New York.

This generously illustrated survey of 80 halls from the past three centuries is a personal selection by the authors, enriched by recommendations from leading musical authorities. These auditoria combine consistently high standards of performance with architectural and acoustical excellence.
Our survey focuses on three periods. Earliest, the court theaters that served rulers and the aristocracy in the 18th century, jewel boxes that now draw music lovers to summer festivals. Secondly, the explosive growth in size of theaters, orchestras, and audiences in the 19th century. Finally, the dramatic advances in design and technology over the past 30 years, as leading architects have worked with musicians and expert acousticians to create versatile and innovative auditoria that address civic and economic demands, while attracting new audiences.
Our goal is to create a readable, visually alluring compendium that will appeal to lovers of music and architecture as well as cultural tourists in search of new experiences. It will satisfy a broad range of taste, from the intimacy of chamber music and baroque opera in period settings, to the grandeur of Verdi in La Scala and Wagner in Bayreuth, and the latest advances in composition and presentation.

• When sight and sound are perfectly matched, all your senses are engaged, and you can have a sublime experience.
• Vienna needs music, just like it needs bread and water. Not because of school or studying, but because music is part of family life.”
• The world may be teetering on the brink of catastrophe; but the fusion of architecture and music can still provide inspiration, solace and the dream that our better angels may yet prevail.

Michael Webb is the author of 30 books on architecture and design and contributes to leading journals in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Thomas Aujero Small has written extensively for the French journal Concertonet and other musical publications and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Music and Opera at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and a French National Fellowship at the Sorbonne Nouvelle.