Venue of the month

The UK’S best concert halls

14. The Anvil

Where: Basingstoke

Opened: 1994

Seats: 1,400

For some of the best concert hall acoustics in the country, turn your back on the capital and head to Basingstoke. When The Anvil was built in the early 1990s, the prime concern was how to make the sound in the auditorium world class. Architects Renton Howard Wood Levin worked with Arup Acoustics to come up with a design that would envelop the listener in a sound that ‘combines clarity with warmth and reverberance.’ The common consensus is that it was a job well done. ‘It boasts acoustics as warm as an Italian courtyard,’ wrote The Times.

Situated in the centre of the Hampshire town just a short walk from the railway station, the concert hall is shaped, as the name suggests, a little like a blacksmith’s anvil. Now the 24-year-old venue has a thriving programme welcoming visiting orchestras. This season’s line-up features ensembles from around the UK, including the Bournemouth and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, the Philharmonia and Chineke!. Touring groups from abroad include the St Petersburg Philharmonic. There’s also a 90-seat space, The Forge, which puts on smaller-scale events, from jazz and blues to folk music.