Boston Symphony Hall Celebrates 125th Anniversary

At 125 years young, Boston's Symphony Hall remains one of the world's premier concert venues. 

To mark its 125th anniversary this month, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) hosted concerts on Friday, Oct. 10, and Saturday, Oct. 11, and unveiled an online exhibition highlighting the hall's rich history.

Henry Lee Higginson, a philanthropist and founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881, played a key role in commissioning Symphony Hall to enhance Boston's musical landscape.

“Higginson wanted a better home for the presentation of classical orchestral music,” said BSO archive director Bridget Carr in a statement shared with WBUR. He bought property on the corner of Massachusetts and Huntington avenues and collaborated with several associates, including Isabella Stewart Gardner's husband, to raise funds.

Designed by architect Charles McKim with input from Harvard physicist Wallace Clement Sabine, Symphony Hall was the first in the world to be built according to the scientific principles of architectural acoustics, with a focus on reverberation times.

According to a WBUR report, the hall officially opened on Oct. 15, 1900, drawing large crowds, including socialites, and earning widespread media coverage.

Its acclaimed acoustics are achieved through features like a recessed stage, non-flat wall and ceiling surfaces, acoustically optimized heating and ventilation, and carefully selected materials such as leather upholstery.

Today, the hall's acoustics are still heavily praised. Musicians like BSO principal flutist Lorna McGee appreciate the hall's history and legacy in the Boston cultural arts community.

“I think one of the secrets of a great instrument, or a great hall, is if it can still resonate even when you're playing the quietest of pieces,” she said to WBUR. “In my youth, in the last century, we came on tour to the States [with the BBC Symphony], and I remember we played Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique, and I never forgot that gorgeous acoustic.”