Entrance and foyers
The leading artists of the era were commissioned to conceive the new concert hall in a timeless style, harnessing motifs from two different worlds: classical Greece and the history of music.
Outside the hall’s entrance, visitors encounter a work which was designed to adorn the venue. Conceived by Carl Milles, the Orpheus Well sculpture group can be found on the stairway from Hötorget. It was opened in 1936 by the artist himself.
Most of the décor inside the imposing vestibule was designed by Einar Forseth, including the large mosaics in the floor and the stucco in the ceiling, which can also be found in the Main foyer further inside the building. In the Main foyer today stand Carl Milles’ statues depicting the four Muses, Erato, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore and Euterpe, which were previously located on the balconies behind the podium in the Main Hall until its restoration in the 1970s. The glass fittings and mirrors in the public spaces were designed by Simon Gate and Edward Hald, at Orrefors glassworks. In order to create a sense of daylight indoors, some of the fittings were made with lightly blue-toned glass.
Moreover, small sculptures created by Ansgar Almqvist can be found at the bottom of the bannisters leading up to the Main Hall. In the staircase, there are also beautiful weavings by Elsa Gullberg, which were previously situated to the rear of the podium in the Main Hall before being relocated during its restoration.
All of the stucco reliefs in the ceilings and pillars, as well as the stucco composers’ portraits above the doors to the stalls in the Main Hall, were created by Nils Olsson and Robert Nilsson. Palestrina, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven can be found in the left hand stalls, with Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, Bruckner, Brahms and Franck appearing on the right, with each one accompanied by a famous quote.
Ewald Dahlskog’s delightful, austere intarsia works, featuring playful, imaginative details, can be found on the first balcony on the doors to the Main Hall. Each door includes a history of instruments from all corners of the world. Dahlskog also painted the lintels which appear in the promenades on the second balcony.
Drawing inspiration from patterns used in the old carpets, textile artist Kajsa Melanton has produced new runners in the foyers around the first balcony. Melanton also designed the carpet in Gustaf V lounge as well as the curtains in the stalls promenades, known as the Dancing taburetes.
Throughout Konserthuset, beside the cloakrooms and refreshments stalls, there is wonderful furniture made by Carl Malmsten, much of which was restored during the 1990s by students at the Carl Malmsten Centre for Woodworking and Design.