Classical concerts are favorites among local audiences. The focal point of concert life in the city is the Laeiszhalle concert hall. Top-notch soloists, singers and orchestras from all over the world give guest performances here before audiences that like to reward them with ten-minute standing ovations. The “musical home games” played by the Hamburger Symphoniker, the Philharmonie Hamburg and the NDR-Symphonieorchester are also greeted enthusiastically. The wider region too has plenty to offer in the way of music. For example, every year the prestigious Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival holds first-class concerts in unusual rural locations including barns, stables, parks and castles.

With so much music enthusiasm, it's no wonder that the most ambitious cultural project ever attempted by the city is now taking shape: the new Elbphilharmonie in the HafenCity. It embodies the new dawn in music and culture here, and a brand new landmark for the city. From 2011, the bold architecture now being built at "Kaispeicher A" will house three concert halls, including one of the world's best, and will attract even more international stars and orchestras to Hamburg. The concert calendar is open for everyone and everything – just like the Hamburg audiences. In addition to classical music, jazz and pop will also resound - and far beyond Hamburg's borders too.