Season 2026/27

# Ninety-two concerts in a room built to be heard from every seat.

Halden opened its hall in 1964 with a Bruckner Seventh and has played one every September since. The 2026/27 season runs from 11 September to 24 April, with eighteen first performances and a flat rate of CHF 15 for anyone under 30.

See the programme Subscriptions and prices

Fig. 1. The season poster in the foyer. The same dynamic ramp, pianissimo to fortissimo, has run on every one since 2019.

01

## A season is a shape, not a shopping list.

We programme in arcs. The autumn is late romantic and loud because the hall was designed for that repertoire and still answers to it. Winter narrows: chamber music in the Kammersaal, the organ, one long evening of Feldman. Spring opens out again and ends with the Ninth, as it has done in eleven of the last fourteen seasons.

Nothing is programmed to fill a gap. If a date has no argument behind it, the date stays empty and the hall is given to the education department instead.

Subscriptions open on 6 May 2026, single tickets on 3 June. Renewal has run at 62 per cent for three seasons, which means roughly 340 subscription seats reach the public each year.

The full printed season book, 96 pages, is free at the box office and posted anywhere in Switzerland on request.

- 92 Concerts, Sept 2026 to June 2027
- 18 First performances in Halden
- 41 Visiting ensembles and soloists
- 1,412 Seats in the Grosser Saal

Instruments belonging to the house are lent to residents and to the instrument library. The 1911 Bergonzi copy below has been in Halden since 1968.

02

## Programme, September 2026 to April 2027.

Ten of ninety-two dates. Times are start times. Prices are the lowest and highest band for that date, before any reduction.

Date Time Programme Artists Price

1. 01 Fri 11.09.2026 19.30 Bruckner, Symphony No. 7 Season opening. Wagner, Siegfried Idyll Halden Philharmonic, Ines VoglerGrosser Saal CHF 25–110
2. 02 Sat 26.09.2026 20.00 Ligeti, Kurtág, Bartók String quartets of 1928 to 1994 Quatuor AvelineKammersaal CHF 40
3. 03 Thu 15.10.2026 19.30 Mahler, Symphony No. 4 Berg, Seven Early Songs Halden Philharmonic, Tomás BerrioGrosser Saal CHF 30–125
4. 04 Sun 08.11.2026 17.00 Bach, the organ at 60 Preludes and fugues, Trio Sonata No. 5 Marthe Solberg, organGrosser Saal CHF 20–45
5. 05 Fri 27.11.2026 19.30 Sibelius, Violin Concerto Nielsen, Symphony No. 4 Halden Philharmonic, Ines VoglerGrosser Saal CHF 30–125
6. 06 Wed 16.12.2026 19.00 Handel, Messiah Period instruments, 34 voices Halden Chorus, Bertrand AebyGrosser Saal CHF 35–120
7. 07 Sat 23.01.2027 20.00 Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No. 1 Weinberg, Symphony No. 10 Junia Halvorsen, celloGrosser Saal CHF 30–125
8. 08 Thu 18.02.2027 19.30 Feldman, Rothko Chapel Followed by 40 minutes of silence and questions Ensemble Halden Neue MusikKammersaal CHF 40
9. 09 Fri 19.03.2027 19.30 Ravel, Debussy, Dutilleux Including one first performance in Halden Halden Philharmonic, Ines VoglerGrosser Saal CHF 25–110
10. 10 Sat 24.04.2027 20.00 Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 Season close. Sold out in 2025 within 11 days Philharmonic and Chorus, Ines VoglerGrosser Saal CHF 40–150

The remaining 82 dates are listed in the season book and at the box office. Foyer recitals are not listed anywhere.

03

## The hall, and what it does to a sound.

Reinhardt built a shoebox, narrow and tall, and refused the fan shape that was fashionable in 1961. The side walls are ribbed oak over 90 mm of plaster, which is heavy enough to return the bass rather than absorb it. The result is a room that flatters a string section and forgives a brass section nothing.

The 2019 refit changed very little on purpose: a new stage riser system, 140 replaced seats with matched absorption, and the removal of a 1988 canopy that had been dulling the upper balcony for thirty years.

Grosser Saal, full orchestra layout. 214 m² of stage, risers at 200 mm.

Built
  1961–1964
Architect
  Elsa Reinhardt
Acoustic refit
  2019, Kessler + Ost
Seats, Grosser Saal
  1,412
Seats, Kammersaal
  260
Reverberation, occupied
  2.1 s
Reverberation, empty
  2.6 s
Stage area
  214 m²

### The organ

Builder
  Kuhn, Männedorf
Installed
  1966
Stops
  62
Pipes
  4,388
Manuals
  4 and pedal

Tuned twice a year, in March and in September, over four nights each time. The instrument is available to students of the conservatory on Monday afternoons at no charge.

04

## Artists in residence.

Two residencies a season. Both are expected in the building, not only on the stage.

### Ines Vogler

Chief Conductor

Appointed 2023, contract to 2030

Vogler conducts 22 of the 92 concerts this season, including the opening Bruckner and the closing Ninth. She rehearses with the doors open on Thursday mornings and expects the hall to be used, not admired.

### Junia Halvorsen

Artist in Residence 2026/27

One season, six appearances

Halvorsen plays the Shostakovich in January, two chamber programmes in the Kammersaal, and three unannounced 20-minute recitals in the foyer. Foyer recitals are free and are not listed in advance.

05

## Education, which is most of what the building does before 18.00.

1. 01

   ### Open rehearsals

   Fourteen Thursday mornings, 10.00 to 12.30. Free, no booking, come and go. Doors on Gerberstrasse.

   14 dates

2. 02

   ### Schools programme

   Years 3 to 9. Two visits from a player, then a concert in the hall. Transport paid within the canton.

   42 schools, 6,100 pupils

3. 03

   ### Instrument library

   Instruments on loan for a year at a time, CHF 40 including insurance. Waiting list runs to about five months.

   180 instruments

4. 04

   ### Under 30

   Any unsold seat, any concert, CHF 15. Released 14 days before the date, in person or online.

   CHF 15 flat

06

## Tickets.

Subscriptions open 6 May 2026 at 09.00. Single tickets open 3 June 2026 at 09.00. There is no booking fee, online or at the counter, and there never has been.

Box office details

Price bands, Grosser Saal
  CHF 25 / 45 / 70 / 95 / 125 / 150
Price, Kammersaal
  CHF 40, unreserved seating
Subscription, six concerts
  20 per cent off, seat held to 2030
Under 30
  CHF 15, from 14 days before
Companion seat
  Free with a registered ticket
Exchange
  Up to 48 hours before, CHF 5 per ticket
Box office
  Tue to Fri 12.00–18.30, Sat 10.00–14.00
Telephone
  +41 44 512 60 00

07

## How to find us.

Address
  Haldenplatz 4, 8032 Halden
Tram
  Lines 3 and 8, stop Haldenplatz
Rail
  S6 to Halden Nord, then 7 minutes on foot
Parking
  Parkhaus Haldenplatz, 240 spaces, entrance Gerberstrasse
Doors
  Open 45 minutes before the start
Latecomers
  Admitted at the first suitable break
Cloakroom
  Free, staffed until 30 minutes after the end
Step-free access
  Haldenplatz entrance, lift to all levels

Foyer, Haldenplatz entrance. The counter opens 90 minutes before every concert.