CMU School of Drama


Thursday, October 13, 2022

New York Philharmonic's new home is finally designed for good sound : Deceptive Cadence

NPR: The new David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center opens this week, and while the travertine marble exterior of the hall remains the same, everything inside has changed, said Deborah Borda, president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic.

3 comments:

Gemma said...

For the second or third week in a row I am back again to talk about how interesting I find acoustics and concert halls! Considering the hall as an instrument is such an interesting analogy and approach to how to build and play in a new orchestra hall. I’d love to know what the specifics of the tuning implements in the doors and the canopies - the article is pretty general but gives a good overview of the thought process between the build of this hall. I would also love to visit this hall and sit behind the orchestra - the New York Philharmonic is incredible - I had an opportunity to sit behind the orchestra at the Chicago Symphony Center at a Chicago Symphony Orchestra performance once and that was an ethereal experience, both being so close, and also getting a different acoustic perspective to the piece you’re hearing. I’d be fascinated to see how the plans for this new interior of the hall were drawn up, and to see what the process of that is.

Anonymous said...

As a person who has done sound for a while, I find it really cool that buildings are able to change to fit a concert rather than using equipment to make music sound good. I’m used to having to figure out and mix music to make it sound good, and sometimes equipment just can’t do it justice. I think it would be cool to design a building rather than design a sound system to make music sound good. I’m sure there’s lots of engineering to it which is also interesting, but you also have to understand music and theatre and live entertainment to get it just right. There’s also an aspect of the audience involved which I’m sure can pose a challenge in designing. And you have to know and understand music to be a part of designing this, so finding the right people to do it must have been a challenge, but a unique one. -Alex Reinard

Sophie Rodriguez said...

I clicked on this article because I find it fascinating that buildings and interiors can be designed and modified for acoustics and performances, it seems simple, or even like the bare minimum, but I think it’s cool that so much thought goes into what the audience experiences and hears. I was also taken aback by how this project “employed over 6,000 people.” I don’t know a ton about sound, I’ve taken your typical BFA production-type degree classes about sound, but it amazes me to read about how the smallest changes in the space can change the entire sound of an orchestra. Also, the fact that this space has TWENTY elevators to create various risers is SO cool. The fact that they care about the audience members being able to see everyone is something that I think is looked over in general. This is definitely a space in which I would love to see some type of performance!