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When the French and Paris city governments agreed to build the Philharmonie in the working-class 19th arrondissement, many experts rolled their eyes at the idea that the city could fill another concert hall besides the Salle Pleyel and the opera house. Ordinary Parisians carped aplenty, too, assuming that music lovers, primarily from affluent areas, wouldn’t be willing to travel far from the Champs-Elysées.
However, as it celebrates its 10th Anniversary, the Philharmonie de Paris has earned praise as one of the most successful symphony halls in the world. This success is not only due to its acoustics, which rival those of venues like the Berlin Philharmonic but also because of its unusually young and diverse audience, which other concert halls could only dream of.
Situated in the Parc de La Villette, the Philharmonie de Paris, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, represents the pinnacle of the Cité de la Musique, delineated by Christian de Portzamparc 30 years ago. This remarkable architectural ensemble has brought together several concert halls, the National Museum of Music, and numerous educational spaces in an urban geography “which can be difficult to read.” Understanding its complexity requires engaging with the dynamics of these spaces.
“Practice has given substance to my intuition about the political power of this institution – in the sense of its capacity for civic action. Each program decision, each speech, internally or externally, is an opportunity for action,” said Olivier Mantei, General Director of the Paris Philharmonie, in a press release for its 10th Anniversary. “We now understand how important it is for a new audience to see a reflection of the society they live in and can identify with on stage.”
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Last Wednesday, I attended a concert by the Orchestre de Paris at the Philharmonie. As I emerged from the metro at Porte de Pantin, I found myself heading toward the concert hall alongside a diverse crowd of people, young and old, from various backgrounds and walks of life. As we took our seats, I looked toward the orchestra, the seats behind it, and the balconies, which appeared suspended in a warm orange atmosphere. No audience member is more than 100 feet from the conductor in this space.
As the lights dimmed, a brief overture to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro filled the magnificent room with enthusiasm. The evening progressed beautifully with works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, creating a vibrant dynamic on stage. The expressive performances of solo violinist Gregory Ahss and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras felt so intimate that they allowed the audience to connect with the music. The audience erupted in joyous applause, even once between movements. Purists’ jaws dropped.
Then, Queyras paused to welcome music students who had traveled from the Victor Hugo School in Narbonne to attend the Philharmonie de Paris. He also acknowledged the Démos initiative, launched and coordinated by the Cité de la Musique—Philharmonie de Paris since 2010, which has been implemented across France in collaboration with local authorities. The audience applauded once more in recognition of this program’s efforts.
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Démos supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds who aspire to learn classical musical instruments by providing them with instruments and finding financial and logistical solutions for their classes, including support for young people in rural areas. While the program has a profound impact on the children, it also carries significant symbolic value, fostering trust and recognition within families. “You have to witness the astonishment that grips an audience as they see their children or classmates performing in a symphony orchestra on stage, leading to an immediate atmosphere of silence and concentration,” states Olivier Mantei.
As the concert drew to a close, the music, words, and emotions undoubtedly inspired a state of exaltation among the audience. The following day, the Orchestre de Paris repeated the same repertoire, but this time, for people whose disabilities (autism, multiple disabilities, intellectual disabilities, mental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.) are likely to lead to unpredictable behavior. Under this Relax program, people with disabilities and their family members can enjoy a concert with other spectators and experience their emotions without constraint, thanks to flexible room codes.
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Very early on, the Philharmonie de Paris addressed issues of inclusion, diversity, and gender equality. However, its innovative model does not exhaust the topic of systemic inequalities, nor is it limited to it. The Philharmonie utilizes its music, programming, and educational activities to engage all Parisians.
In the first week of February, the program paid homage to the iconic figure of Arabic music, Umm Kulthum, featuring a series of workshops and concerts. In January, the Philharmonie hosted the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, and the Orchestre Symphonique Simón Bolívar with renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who began playing the violin at an early age as part of El Sistema, Venezuela’s government-funded network of youth orchestras. Dudamel once said in an interview, “It is great to achieve your artistic vision, but the human and social part of making music is the biggest challenge we face.”
The Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris also enhances accessibility to all audiences through the transversality of its built environment, offering programming that encourages the discovery of different spaces beyond the paid offerings. For example, “Philharmonie Off” provides free programs in and around spaces such as foyers, passageways, and reception areas and in various locations throughout Paris. This initiative invites participation from amateurs of all ages and fosters connections between artists from diverse disciplines, including choreographers, videographers, and fashion designers, through meetings and exchanges in these public spaces.
The organic sculpture Symfolia, located in the Rue Musicale, results from a participatory project led by visual artist Rachel Marks and involving several thousand children, supported by world soccer champion Kylian Mbappé’s IBKM Foundation. “He acts as a guide for all these young people; he disinhibits them, allows them to take ownership of the space: ‘He comes, I can go.’ It’s up to us to make them return,” says Mantei.
Over the past few years, several million children have participated in workshops and educational activities with their classes, families, or groups formed around the Démos project—360,000 young people in 2022 alone. Many now attend concerts at the Cité de la Musique, with nearly 10% of the audience under 28.
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Additionally, the Philharmonie frequently invites individuals to participate in rehearsals for participatory concerts, allowing them to engage actively in performances. Participants accompany the artists on stage by singing or playing excerpts from selected works they have prepared in advance. The Philharmonie’s radio station, La Balise, also gives voice to young Parisians involved in the music scene to express themselves with their own words and references. “We offer them material and a perspective that helps them perfect their craft,” says Mantei.
Every two years, the Philharmonie de Paris launches the international competition La Maestra, aimed at promoting female conductors, as access to this profession remains challenging for them, as well as for female composers.
In the press release, Mantei compares the music scene to the museum field through a fundamental reflection: Museums should no longer solely stick to the conservation of works in a segmented manner but should open up to a universalist and humanist approach, which promotes communication between living cultures through their heritage and their most current innovations. Similarly, he says, “Music offers a field of experimentation that is still largely unexplored for such encounters.” In The Cité de la Musique it must be shared between the Museum of Music, the concerts, and other living places of discussion that the programming continues to create.
Highly criticized before its construction, the Philharmonie de Paris has ranked among the most flourishing symphony halls in the world and has successfully attracted a large and diverse audience in ten years, notes Michel Guerrin, editor-in-chief of Le Monde, in his column. “The history of the Philharmonie de Paris is typical of a France that complains and destroys before forgetting its bitterness.” However, Parisians now recognize that a revolution can also begin in a concert hall.
