NY Phil solves Avery Fisher acoustics!

Now that's what I call fixing a problem!

Wow!

Tony Movshon

One wonders how it will affect visiting orchestras. Given the tendency to favor the Carnegie acoustics, will they choose to skip playing in NYC? It would be great if the Lincoln Center folks would actually tear down Avery Fisher and start from scratch. NYC really deserves at least two good halls.

Logistically, I wonder how the move would affect the Philharmonic. I was just back stage at a MET orchestra concert at Carnegie a few weeks ago and it seems like it's cramped. Seemed liked parking was also a problem for the musicians, some of whom appeared to park at the Lincoln Center Garage and walked over to Carnegie. Seating also appears to be more cramped in Carnegie. The acoustics and sight lines I think also in the back of the boxes aren't as good as elsewhere in the hall either.

Ho-ho! And so much cheaper than hiring a new acoustical architect and a construction firm to attempt (probably unsuccessfully) once again to fix the old shoebox.

I agree with Eric Nagamine that the NY Phil's occupancy of Carnegie Hall will create a problem for visiting orchestras and, in fact, some of the soloists who typically play at the big hall at Carnegie. And we also agree that New York needs another fine big hall. Avery Fisher Hall has been an expensive disappointment. The only hall that's great in Lincoln Center is the Metropolitan Opera House, and that's magnificent. Alice Tully Hall also has good acoustics in the audience, but when I played in an orchestra there for a semi-staged opera performance, I found that it was somewhat difficult to hear onstage. I haven't had the honor and pleasure of playing with the Met, so I can't say anything about the acoustics in the pit.

From my experience the some of the best sound is out in the Orchestra Prime. I've heard Rosenkavalier, Gotterdammerung, & Boheme within 10 rows of the pit and the sound is incredible. The Orchestra Rear & balance have the problem of the overhang from the balcony which deadens the sound.

I think in Avery Fisher, the balconies are shallow so the overhangs are less of a problem.

You try and lug a tuba on the Subway

I was pretty excited until I read a companion article http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/02/arts/music/ 02MUSI.html

Quote:

'But the visiting American and European orchestras that have typically filled the Carnegie season would have little choice but to move to Avery Fisher Hall.'

I'd find it frightening if the Vienna Philharmonic were to be made to play in Avery Fisher

This is potentially a body blow for Lincoln Center, if not the first tolling of the bells for the pre-eminence of New York (in the US) for live classical music. There's no doubt that the Phil has done the right thing for itself, and you can't criticize its decision, but its going to have bad results otherwise, and starkly points out how live classical music is suffering. Lincoln Center officials are saying that it opens new opportunities for them, both for visiting orchestras that would otherwise have gone to Carnegie, and for special festivals and Julliard events. But that's like the 60 year old who talks about 'new opportunities' when they've just been left by their spouse of 40 years; it's whistling in the dark.

The upshot is that Carnegie now has a reliable tenant (a tenant with a reliable subscriber base, all things being equal in a world of declining subscribers), and Lincoln Center now has to cope with the risks of booking events with all the year-to-year problems that entails. The Lincoln Center Festival is not a money-maker, and is being phased out, and with the planned absence of the New York City Opera, it's getting to look a bit grim as a 'cultural center'. Perhaps this will make Lincoln Center relent and really put the dollars into City Opera that they need, but overall it's not a good sign. We can expect more concert series to bypass New York, for the burbs, or to make token NY appearances; I suspect that Fisher Hall will have to be much more competitive in pricing the booking of the hall, thus further exacerbating its income potential.

The Met is a remarkably good hall for its size (3800, more than 50% larger than most of the great European houses and substantially larger than the old Met). Voices carry without effort to all parts of the house, and sound good, which for an opera house is the most important thing. The sound of the orchestra is more variable. In the orchestra, the sound from the pit is a little dead and slightly muffled, and there are some well-known spots in the side and rear orchestra where there are odd echoes and dead spots. The best balanced sound in the Met is in the middle at the back of the hall, above the

?? They always play Carnegie.

Could it have something to do with the quality of the productions?

In many cities the local union contracts for musicians, chorus members and dancers include provisions for the house to underwrite (at least partially) parking expenses. Not sure about the situation with Lincoln Center.