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Originally named the Bechstein Hall, it was designed by T. E. Collcutt , who also designed the Savoy Hotel on The Strand , for Bechstein , the German Piano manufacturer whose showroom was next door. Similar halls were also built by Bechstein in Saint Petersburg and Paris . The building follows the Renaissance Style , using Alabaster and Marble walls to furnish a flat, rectangular hall with a small raised stage area complete with a cupola depicting the Soul Of Music above. The hall is considered to have excellent Acoustics . The hall opened on 31 May 1901 with a concert featuring the virtuoso pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni and violinist Eugène Ysaÿe . During its early period, the hall attracted great artists like Artur Schnabel , Pablo Sarasate , Percy Grainger , Myra Hess , Arthur Rubinstein and Camille Saint-Saëns . Because of its German ownership the hall was seized as ''enemy property'' during World War I but re-opened as the Wigmore Hall in 1917 . Since re-opening great artists including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Sergey Prokofiev , Paul Hindemith , Andrés Segovia , Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc have held performances here. Located near the BBC 's Broadcasting House in Portland Place , its concerts are frequently relayed by Radio 3 . The Wigmore hall hosts mainly Chamber Music and Solo Recital s, with around 400 Concert s each year. On May 5 2005 the hall announced that it is to set up its own Record Label later in the year. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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