Directly across from the Le Corbusier masterpiece museum in the Ueno Museum district sits a much overlooked and truly thrilling symphony space, one a local patron described to me as "the people's concert hall". Built in 1961 by architect Kunio Maekawa, it is a paradigm of mid century wooden architecture replete with acoustical elements that look like Josef Albers. I heard not just one but two Beethoven symphonies and was, I think, the only non native in the packed 2300 plus hall.
