Hamburg, an old trading city, is Germany’s principal port and its second-biggest city. But in some areas it has punched below its weight: Its soccer team lags near the bottom of the Bundesliga, and few international tourists visit.

In recent decades, Hamburg has marketed itself as Germany’s capital of musicals, with fixtures like “The Lion King,” in German, presented in a theater that is reached by ferry. But the city’s robust classical-music scene is still overshadowed by those of Berlin and Munich. The new hall is expected to change that by raising the standards of the ensembles that will play in its inspiring and, it is hoped, acoustically excellent interiors. And it will attract touring orchestras.

The challenge remains to make the new building feel relevant to all the sectors of the city. Carsten Brosda, who heads Hamburg’s culture department, said in an interview that educational outreach projects were a priority. “Every schoolchild in Hamburg should visit the Elbphilharmonie at least once as part of their education,” he said.

Image The Elbphilharmonie, designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Credit... Thies Rätzke

The institution is also seeking to help integrate the refugees who have entered the city in great numbers over the past two years. In March the Elbphilharmonie will present a festival dedicated to Syrian music and culture that will bring together residents and new arrivals in projects including a community choir and creative workshops.

Alan Gilbert, the New York Philharmonic’s music director and a frequent guest conductor in Hamburg, said in a phone interview that the Elbphilharmonie’s vision aligned perfectly with his own paradigm for successful 21st-century orchestras. “It’s about how they connect to the cities they serve,” he said. “And one condition for that is the existence of a perfectly appropriate physical space. What’s going on there is related to what’s potentially going to happen here in New York with the idea of redoing David Geffen Hall.”