Kleinhans Music Hall

Kleinhans Music Hall ranks among the Saarinens’ finest work, exemplifying their sophisticated aesthetic and artistic principles: the shape of the music hall represents both organic and functional notions, with the graceful curvilinear massing encasing a large auditorium and smaller music chamber. This fine sense of balance is representative, in Eliel’s words, of the structure’s 'masculine' and 'feminine' traits as exhibited by 'strongly indicative line' in the former and 'playful pattern of wall surface' in the latter. The result is a structure of incredible beauty and utility, with an international reputation as one of the acoustically finest concert halls in the world. Home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra since 1940, Kleinhans was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 and is slated to be a major venue for the National Historic Trust’s Conference in 2011 (text from project's website).