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We hope the information below will enhance your Brandenburg experience. Please do not hesitate to contact us on 1300 782 856 should you have any further questions.
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Accessibility – Sydney
City Recital Hall’s Pitt Street entrance offers level access to the ground foyer lobby. There is also a disabled access lift at the Ash Street entrance. City Recital Hall offers lift access to all floors, including to and from the Wilson Angel Place Car Park.
Public Transport
Train – Wynyard and Martin Place stations are within walking distance of City Recital Hall.
Bus – City buses stop on George, Castlereagh or Elizabeth Streets, within walking distance of City Recital Hall.
Ferry – Circular Quay Ferry Terminal is a 10 minute walk from City Recital Hall.
For further information on public transport visit www.131500.com.au.Parking
There are a number of parking stations within walking distance from City Recital Hall:
Wilson Parking: 123 Pitt St, underneath the Angel Place Office Tower.
(NB. There is a lift leading from the Angel Place carpark directly into the City Recital Hall Foyer).
Wilson Parking: 19-29 Martin Place, underneath the MLC Centre.
Secure Parking: No. 1 Martin Place, underneath the Westin Hotel.
Ezipark: 109 Pitt St, underneath Hunter Connection. -
Accessibility – Melbourne
The Melbourne Recital Centre has wheelchair accessible seating in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. The Box Office can assist you with selecting seats that best meet your individual needs. The safest place to pick up/drop off is the Sturt Street entrance to the Melbourne Recital Centre. Staff can assist with ordering wheelchair accessible taxis. Due to its redevelopment, we encourage you to phone The Arts Centre directly on 1300 182 183, for up to the minute information on accessibility at Hamer Hall.
Public Transport
Tram – Stop 14 is the closest to Hamer Hall and stop 16 is the closest to Melbourne Recital Centre. They are both serviced by routes 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 72.
Train – Flinders Street Station is the closest to Hamer Hall and the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Bus – Melbourne Bus Link operates routes 216, 219 and 220 along Southbank Boulevard. The free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle runs in a loop through Melbourne’s CBD every 15 minutes, stopping at the corner of Southbank Boulevard and Kavanagh Street (Stop 10).
For further public transport information visit www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au or phone 131 638.Parking
We recommend the following accessible car parks for convenient access to both Melbourne Recital Centre and Hamer Hall.
Australian Ballet Centre: 2 Kavanagh Street
The Arts Centre: Corner of Sturt and Kavanagh Streets. -
What time to arrive
City Recital Hall is open one hour prior to our concert start time. Some guests like to arrive with time to browse the concert program, enjoy a glass of champagne, catch up with friends and even make some new ones. It’s a great way to wind down from your day at work, rushing around after the kids or fighting with traffic. We suggest you allow extra time if driving on a Friday night as traffic tends to be at its worst.
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Running late?
If you are running late, don’t worry! Although entry into the hall is restricted once the performance has commenced, ushers will be able to let you in at a suitable break. This may be during the applause between pieces, or at interval. The venue ushers will be able to assist you.
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Pre-Concert talks
We offer complimentary pre-concert talks at all of our evening performances. These are conducted by music historian Alan Maddox in the Function Room on Level 1 of City Recital Hall. They provide an informative and entertaining background on the concert program, composers, guest artists, soloists and the instruments being played. Talks commence 40 minutes prior to the concert start time and as seating is limited, they operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
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What should I wear?
Brandenburg concert goers are varied and so is their attire. While some dress casually, others treat our performances as an opportunity to dress up.
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Mobile phones and other distractions
For the benefit of our musicians and your fellow audience members, we ask that you turn off all electronic devices before a performance commences. Other distractions can include talking and whispering, shuffling feet, coughing and paper rustling. We would appreciate it if you would respect the performers and those around you by ensuring these distractions are kept to a minimum. Photographing and recording is strictly prohibited at all times.
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When to applaud?
Just like jazz or pop concerts, orchestral concerts have a unique format which is easy to pick up. As a book has chapters, so a piece of orchestral music has several sections called movements. Although our musicians pause briefly between each movement, it’s accepted practice not to applaud but wait until the end of a piece. At that time separate applause may be given to the soloist, which the conductor will indicate. To understand what’s going on, you can refer to your program to see how many movements there are in each piece or follow the cues from those around you.
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Why does the orchestra re-tune?
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra performs on period instruments which are more fragile than their modern equivalents and sensitive to temperature and humidity. In particular, the gut strings are not as stable as the metal strings on modern instruments. The materials and construction of period instruments contribute a great deal to their distinctive sound, but a consequence is that they tend to lose pitch quicker than their modern counterparts. For this reason the Brandenburg re-tunes during a concert more often than a modern symphony orchestra does. The musicians need to be able to hear their instruments and one another during the tuning process, so we request your discretion at this time.
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What time will the concert finish?
This varies from concert to concert, depending upon the program. The majority of our concerts are scheduled to last 2 hours with a 20 minute interval. If this is not the case, we will make it clear in the concert program and on our website.
We hope this information will make your Brandenburg concert a memorable one. Of course the most important thing is to sit back, relax, and enjoy the performance.
