Gewandhaus zu Leipzig – Erneuerung Saalbeleuchtung

Almost 20 years ago, the desire for new lighting in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig was born. It was finally to be fulfilled in 2018. Until then, the hall had been illuminated with metal halide lamps that could neither be switched nor dimmed in a differentiated manner, meaning that the audience was sometimes illuminated just as brightly as the orchestra. Thanks to the use of simple luminaires with narrow-beam, strongly delimiting reflector geometry, the lighting can now be switched and dimmed in a targeted manner, depending on the type of performance. The audience area is dimmed down at the start of the concert and is only slightly brightened by the reflection from the podium ceiling.

A major challenge was that the ceiling had to remain as it was and therefore only the existing positions were available for the lighting. This was achieved with the help of rotatable and tiltable downlights, which were developed to suit the different installation situations. The luminaires were recessed into the ceiling to avoid unnecessary visual clutter and create a calm overall appearance.

The entire hall lighting was designed to be flicker-free. This means that visual calm is maintained even in dimmed operation and the lighting system can also be used professionally for television recordings. Additional spotlights only need to be installed for special accents and lighting effects. All operating devices were brought together externally in decentralized control cabinets in order to keep maintenance of the electronic components as simple as possible. Safety lighting was also included in the planning.

The dimmable lighting scenes correspond to the following areas. These scenes can be controlled by the lighting control room via DMX control.

Podium
With the downlights, which have different narrow beams and can be rotated and swiveled, a uniform illuminance of over 1,000 lx is achieved in the podium area. The musicians at the edge of the podium are now also well illuminated, which was previously not the case. The downlights were arranged in units of two or four.

Choir
Two new ceiling recesses had to be provided for the choir lighting. Rotating and swiveling downlights in units of two or four are also used here. An illuminance level of 500 lx is achieved. If the choir area is occupied by an audience, the lighting is dimmed down to 300 lx. The lettering on the organ is separately illuminated by strictly delimited linear luminaires. These luminaires are concealed behind a screen.

Audience area
The audience area is also uniformly illuminated with rotatable and tiltable downlights with different beam characteristics. An illuminance level of 300 lx is achieved here. Downlights were added under the tiers to prevent the areas from being overshadowed by the lighting from the auditorium ceiling.

Ceiling brightening
The existing indirect wall luminaires in the same position were replaced with LED technology and an asymmetrical reflector in order to create a pleasant feeling in the room and to brighten up the ceiling more effectively.