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Science
Friday > Archives
> 2001
> March
> March 9, 2001:
Hour Two: Music Hall Design
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In the 1930's, the legendary conductors Leopold Stokowski, conducting
the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Serge Koussevitsky, conducting
the Boston Symphony Orchestra, each tailored their conducting
techniques to take advantage of the acoustics of their own orchestra
halls -- to the point that critics said the Philadelphia Orchestra
sounded odd when it played Symphony Hall in Boston, and the Boston
Symphony sounded odd when it played in Philadelphia's Academy
of Music.
The lesson? If you take one of the world's great orchestras,
and move it into a different performing space, it sounds different.
That shouldn't be too much of a surprise - after all, you know
that you sound different when you sing in the shower and when
you sing outdoors, so why shouldn't Plácido Domingo sound
different in Seattle's new opera house and Teatro alla Scala in
Milan?
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See what we're talking about:
Concert
Halls: The shape we're in
Boston
Symphony 360 degree view
Kennedy
Center: 360-Degree-View
Seattle
Symphony | Benaroya Hall
Artec:
Meyerson Hall, Dallas TX
Academy
of Music Photos
Artec:
Performing Arts Center, Phila. PA
Alice
Tully Hall Floor Plans
Marcus
Center Architectural Floor Plans
Avery
Fisher Hall Floor Plans
Jazz
at Lincoln Center New Facility
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Architectural acoustics, the science and art of designing a space to
enhance its sound, can help make or break a music hall. In this hour
of Science Friday, we'll be talking about what makes a concert hall
sound great -- from its shape, to its placement, to the materials inside.
We'll also be talking to some of the people who have helped to design
the world's most famous concert halls.
Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255,
and share your opinions online in our Listeners'
Lounge (registration
required)
Guests:
Leo Beranek
Co-founder of Bolt Beranek Newman
Acoustical Consultant
Cambridge, Massachusetts
R. Lawrence Kirkegaard
Principal Acoustician
Kirkegaard and Associates
Chicago, Illinois
Russell Johnson
Principal Consultant and Director of Research
Artec Consultants
New York, New York
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Art
+ Physics = Beautiful Music
Concert
Hall Acoustics: Art and Science
Artec Consultants
Kirkegaard and Associates
The
Acoustical Society of America
Technical
Committee on Architectural Acoustics (TCAA) of the ASA - Home Page
PY115:Musical
Acoustics
Architecture
Rensselear: Architectural Acoustics
This segment produced by: Charles
Bergquist
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