NO apologies for returning this week to the subject of the RSNO Centre. It has been the talk of the steamie. On every single day of the past week I have been bombarded with questions about it, by players, wanting to know my impressions, by other managers, curious about the extent of its operation, and by members of the public, awash with questions as to what it’s for exactly. These issues have come at me from every direction, in every concert hall in and out the city, including the City Hall, the Royal Conservatoire, the Royal Concert Hall itself, Perth Concert Hall last Sunday, in taxis, in the street and even in my local caff!

One of the issues consistently-raised has been the question now of the Royal Concert Hall. Perhaps understandably, some folks are a bit confused: “Does Glasgow now have two concert halls in Killermont Street?” And, the most-asked question of all, with some evident concern: “Will the RSNO be moving some of its concerts from the Royal Concert Hall into the new centre? Perhaps the ones that don’t sell well might be shifted into the new, smaller hall?” Literally, I suppose there are two auditoria on the site, though that’s not really the way to perceive it; and there will be no shifting of concerts from the Royal to the new centre. Actually, I understand how this has come about. It’s been abrupt, and readers with views have pounced.

The bald fact is that folk have been hit with a massive amount of new information, and it’s all come at once, very fast and in a deluge. It’s not long since, in this space, I told the tale of coming back late-night from an out-of-town job, exiting Buchanan Street bus station and being shocked when I saw the building, still all wrapped-up. My mind raced: everyone’s involved here, from Glasgow City Council to the Scottish government. That week, I had to ask: “Will it be ready on time?”

Suddenly, though there are formal launches to come, the wraps are off and it’s not only open, but doing business. Dedicated events, including the RSNO’s launch concert and the first lunchtime concert in the new auditorium, have already taken place. Now let’s answer bluntly some of the basic questions. The new RSNO Centre is fundamentally the orchestra’s new administrative home, moving the organisation from the periphery of the city centre to the beating heart of its music operation, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall site. Where there was once a huge service yard, that space now contains the new centre, cleverly and almost imperceptibly-blended with the building that is the Royal Concert Hall. It’s infinitely more subtle than that description suggests.

In that RSNO Centre, there are myriad spaces for administrative and education functions, instrument storage and maintenance, practice rooms, music library and much more; there is a flexible auditorium which is now, and immediately, the RSNO’s new rehearsal hall. It can double as a recording studio and a concert hall, seating up to 600 – or fewer, when the organisation wants to exploit the flexibility of the space to do interactive work, master-class-type work, intimate chamber music, educational work, ventures with children, contemporary music projects or whatever. It is a new world of opportunity.

What will not happen, for any reason, is that main-scale RSNO concerts will be filtered off for transplanting into the new centre. The auditorium of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall will remain the arena for the main-stage winter season concerts: all of them. There will be no dilution in concert provision. Some confusion did arise from the first public event, which was titled Under the Skin of Tchaikovsky. Many people thought this was going to be the revered Naked Classics series with a new name. I thought that too, when it was unveiled as a species where one work would be dissected and analysed, then played complete on a Thursday, to reappear in a full programme, joined by a concerto, on the Saturday: that was precisely the original Naked Classics format. But it wasn’t that. There was no Paul Rissmann or equivalent animateur, and the programme was broader than just one piece. Though not strictly relevant here, before they do the next of these (May 3 next year) the RSNO should think carefully about how they want it to be perceived: it was confusing; it does need some clarification on exactly what it is, and they have to look hard at the presentation of the event, which was weak in structure, definition and delivery.

Let’s get all this cleared up. It’s a good building, and worth the effort of hammering it out. Take no prisoners: get it clear and get it right. It’s too important.