Andrew Usher was already known as a generous man when he made his historic offer to the City of Edinburgh in July 1896 to found a concert hall. His £100,000 gift was his greatest and brought him fame as a philanthropist as well as a sportsman, music lover and the son of a well-known distilling firm.

The Architecture

The design and location of the site of the new building was left to the City Fathers and although, at 70, Usher wanted the "satisfaction of seeing it completed" his death in 1898 was still sixteen years before the hall was finally built. The choice of site had caused early delays but in 1910 an architectural competition was announced, seeking "dignified but simple" proposals for the hall.

The winning entry was a joint bid by Stockdale Harrison and Howard H Thomson of Leicester, selected from 133 entries. The style of the project was part of the contemporary backlash against the Victorian Gothic with a return to the classical features owing much to the Beaux Arts style. On 19th July 1911, King George and Queen Mary laid two memorial stones on the occasion of their first state visit after their coronation. This was a huge event attended by over a thousand people with scaffolding erected for spectators. The finished building was officially opened on 16th March 1914 with a celebratory concert featuring music from Handel and Bach, MacCunn, Wagner and Beethoven. The final cost of building Usher Hall was £134,000.

Usher Hall was, from the first, a striking, elegant and well loved building. Its curved walls were a fairly new architectural departure and this U-plan was only made possible by early 20th century developments in reinforced concrete. Up until the turn of the century, concert halls had been long rectangular boxes. Carnegie Hall in New York, designed in 1889 was a major innovation with the galleries wrapped around the interior. The famous dome was designed to reflect the curvature of the walls, not to give a domed interior which would have been disastrous acoustically.

The interior of the hall is adorned with decorative plaster panels and gilded medallions - the work of an Edinburgh sculptor, Harry Gamley. The figures represented reflect the Hall's Scottish character and honour figures in the world of music. The poets and songwriters include Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Allan Ramsay and R L Stevenson with the musical world represented by, among others, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Brahms, Grieg and Rubenstein. Harry Gamley's work also features on the outside of the building with two colossal figures representing Musical Inspiration and Achievement. Four figures by Crossland McClure depict, Municipal Beneficence The Soul of Music (carrying a lyre), The Music of the Sea (with a shell to her ear) and The Music of the Woods (with a bird in her hand).

Social history

From the start, Usher Hall was used for more than concerts. The letting record through the years is a fascinating document reflecting the concerns of the day. Politics and religion caused much anxiety over the years with arguments erupting over Sunday usage, suitability of event organisers and sectarian issues. In 1914 Prime Minister Asquith gave a speech entitled The War, using the occasion to recruit from the all-male audience. May Day celebrations in 1921 were not allowed to take place for fear of the Red Menace, as the assembled audience would have been singing The Red Flag. Also in 1921 a refusal for an appearance from the Archbishop of Melbourne resulted in 4000 people assembling in protest at St Patrick's Church in the Cowgate.

At various times the musical and the political overlapped, on occasions such as fundraising concerts for the Republican movement in Spain in the 1930's and at sexcentenary celebrations of the foundation of the City Of Edinburgh in 1929. The end to political rallies in the Usher Hall came after a serious incident in 1934. On 1st June 2800 people had come to hear Sir Oswald Moseley speak. The crowds included 387 blackshirts. Between five and six thousand people protested outside and the occasion reached near riot proportions. Buses on the Lothian Road were stoned and one blackshirt lost an eye. In 1958 the Labour Party considered holding their conference at the Usher Hall but were put off by the anti-smoking policy!

A variety of other uses have been considered for the Hall over the years. Sport has often featured as a possibility. In the early 1950's, end of season concerts for Hearts and Hibs football fans were held (one featuring Johnny Beattie) but the Hall was also considered as a venue for wrestling competitions. In 1986 the Commonwealth Games came to Edinburgh with the Usher Hall providing the venue for the Boxing Tournament.

Various proposals to use the Hall as a cinema were considered but did not seem to have been actioned. The earliest example being the request to screen Cecil B De Milles The King of Kings in 1928, described as a silent film with an orchestra. The extensive basement rooms of the Usher Hall made the building ideal for use as an air-raid shelter and the venue was equipped for use during the war years. There are no records of it being used as such, but painted signs on internal doors, such as "No Dogs" indicate that preparations were made.

Still owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, the Usher Hall continues to play a key role in the city's civic life. Recently, the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony and the Colin O'Reardon Memorial Concert have taken place here along with occasions such as the Scottish Business Achievement Awards lunch attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. Freedom of the City ceremonies have taken place at the hall over the years, with the most recent being for film star and Scottish icon Sir Sean Connery in 1991.

Musical history

For the best part of a century, a galaxy of stars have dazzled Usher Hall audiences. Everyone from Herbert Von Karajan to Claudio Abbado, from Ella Fitzgerald to Elton John and from Stephane Grapelli to Simple Minds have graced the stage. The Hall echoes not only with music, but with stories of comedians and divas, rock chicks and impressarios. From Bing Crosby who turned up with his golf trolley, Jesseye Norman who got stuck in the dressing room bath, conductors who needed electric heaters warming their every step to soloists commanding audiences to keep quiet, the Hall has seen them all.

Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Joan Armstrong and Jools Holland are only a handful of performers who have brought glamour to the city and been attracted by the warmth of Edinburgh audiences. In March 1972 the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Hall. The New Seekers provided the British entry and were mobbed by fans on Lothian Road. (The entry from Luxembourg won!).

The Usher Hall's prestige as a platform for internationally renowned classical music owes much to its link with the Edinburgh International Festival. From Vienna Philharmonic under Bruno Walter at the first festival in 1947 to the present day, all the world's greatest orchestras and most of its major maestros and soloists have performed here. Its superb acoustics have proven an attraction to them all, allowing the intimacy of a lieder to carry as well as a Mahler Symphony. London and Paris have no hall of comparable standard. The Hall's own International Classics Series continues the tradition of hosting internationally renowned orchestras and soloists throughout the year.

The Usher Hall is also the Edinburgh home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra who play every Friday night during their season. We regularly welcome the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and local organisations such as the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union and Kevock Choir.

Many local people have also had the chance to appear "live at the Usher Hall" as part of the school concerts which have taken place over the years. Recent refurbishment has allowed rock and pop promoters to benefit from the increased capacity of the promenade facility with bands such as Travis and the Stereophonics performing to capacity crowds.

Refurbishment and recent history

On April 13th 1986 during Tony Bennett's concert, a large piece of plaster fell 130 feet from the roof into the auditorium. Only three chairs were damaged, but this memorable event was just one example of the state of disrepair into which Usher Hall was falling. Vital repairs were necessary to make the building wind-proof, watertight and safe. In 1998 the City of Edinburgh announced tremendous commitment to the Hall by earmarking £9 million of funds for Phase One refurbishment. Over the next two years all electrical systems were fully renewed and heating and ventilation systems installed. Repairs to the ceiling and complete redecoration of the auditorium and foyer areas were carried out including new seating. A major change was also made which would assist the management in programming more diverse productions - a promenade facility was created by excavating an underground chair store where removable stalls seating can be stored.

World famous tenor Jose Carreras sang at the inaugural concert in December 2000, raising funds for leukaemia research. 2001 saw the arrival of a new General Manager at Usher Hall and the staff team was expanded to help fulfil the aspirations of the Hall's new business plan. In 2002 plans for the essential second phase of refurbishment have come together and a Fundraiser appointed to raise the further £11 million required to make the Usher Hall into a venue fit for the 21st century and beyond.