I bought tickets ahead to hear the Calefax jazz quintet as advertised as Jazz world music!! We are jazz fans and were looking forward to discovering the new hall in the north port of Amsterdam. 24€ a person and on Wednesday 28 pm we had to sit to a totally different program: young artists of the year being interviewed at length,in Dutch,and music from medieval times by the Calefax and another strings quarter playing their version of Shostakovich...a modern duo, which was socially rewarding... And "jazz world music"?? We left at the interval,super disappointed. The new building is huge and freezing: concerte with high ceilings.. not at all welcoming. If you arrive early,book at the restaurant otherwise unfriendly staff refuses to serve you a drink although there are tables empty and you could go into the hall... The bar was closed too and it became a cold and unfriendly experience, unfortunately. We love Amsterdam and Holland,but this was a huge disappointment.

This is an outstanding modern concert hall. The Grote Saal (Big Hall) is an excellent venue for soloists and chamber music. Acoustics are superb. The only problem is that the seats step up only every two rows, so it's much easier to see over tall Dutch people if you are in an even numbered row.