New Montreal Symphony Hall Opens Its Doors

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Almost 30 years in the making, not even exactly finished, actually, and drawing out not much more than a collective yawn from the local press for its architectural qualities, the new Montreal Symphony Hall (la Maison symphonique de Montréal) nevertheless opened its doors to a select group of invitees and hosted the inaugural concert on Wednesday.

Hardly the stuff of history, say the critics. Well, at least it's finally here and is seemingly on budget, writes Josée Boileau in Le Devoir, or so the journalists were told: the exact budget breakdown of this public-private partnership project remains… errr… more private than public.

In any case, who needs radical stuff nowadays? What are we, Europeans? Explains Mme Boileau: "Audacity in built form costs a lot, elicits controversy, and so is avoided like the plague in these politically timid times."

Fanfare? Okay, may be. But not too loud, please.