Freemasons' Hall, Edinburgh
Freemasons' Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the headquarters of Scottish Freemasonry, the Grand Lodge of Scotland. It is located at 96 George Street.[1]
A Category A listed building, the hall was built during 1911–1912 and was designed by the Edinburgh architect Alexander Hunter Crawford.[2] Crawford was himself a prominent freemason,[3] and the hall is described as his most important work.[2] The facade of the building features a large statue of St Andrew, by the sculptor Henry Snell Gamley.[2] The building replaced a previous hall erected in 1858, designed by David Bryce.[2]
Concerts[]
The hall was used for a series of 10 chamber concerts by Reginald Jacques and his Jacques Orchestra at the first Edinburgh International Festival in 1947. Soloists included Kathleen Ferrier, Peter Pears and Leon Goossens.[4]
It became a regular festival venue from the early years of the festival, and artists appearing in the hall included the instrumentalists Adolf Busch, Rudolf Serkin, Guilhermina Suggia, Pierre Fournier, Dennis Brain, Clifford Curzon, Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Gerald Moore, and Géza Anda and groups such as the Amadeus Quartet, I Musici, and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, led by Karl Münchinger.
Singers included Aulikki Rautawaara, Aksel Schiotz, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Victoria de los Ángeles, Irmgard Seefried, Pierre Bernac, Julius Patzak, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Eleanor Steber, Mattiwilda Dobbs, and Gérard Souzay, together with the composer-accompanists Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc.
References[]
- ^ "Home - The Grand Lodge of Scotland". The Grand Lodge of Scotland.
- ^ a b c d "96 George Street, Freemasons' Hall: LB30024". Historic Environment Scotland.
- ^ "Alexander Hunter Crawford". Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1660-1980.
- ^ The International Festival of Music & Drama Edinburgh 1947 Souvenir Programme. 1947.
- New Town, Edinburgh
- Freemasonry in Scotland
- Masonic buildings in Scotland
- Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh