21–27 of 27 posts
Contrary to what the article states, the acoustic design of the hall have been widely criticized by audio/acoustics experts. In fact, after the premiere concert many (experts and casual visitors alike) have even described the acoustics to be a major disappointment.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did not get to experience the acoustics , but i tend to agree with you about the exterior. The building is rather unappealing box in a colorless surrounding.
Looking at the images of this "unappealing box" and the "colorless surrounding" in form of the hamburg harbour and the old warehouse city I have to assume you are trying to be the "devil's advocate" you proclaim to be in your profile. By the way, what is the difference between a devil's advocate and a troll?
Both roles try to formulate arguments that question the group narrative. The difference is the intention: The troll just wants to induce discord, whereas the devil's advocate wants the group to discover and correct the flaws in their arguments, thus making the arguments stronger.
Beside being absolutely hideous on the outside, there is no way that hall has good acoustics. Having seats to the side and behind the stage means you will have bad merging and resolution of parts. Orchestral seating is specifically designed for an audience sitting in front. For example, when attending a performance of Shostakovich'a Cello Concerto, the cello was very difficult to hear, as were several other orchestra…
"Beside being absolutely hideous on the outside, there is no way that hall has good acoustics." The architects are the Swiss practice Herzog and de Meuron. While your criticisms of the acoustics may be totally valid, it's a feature of the building that the shape of the hall is unrelated to the exterior envelope. So HdeM's exterior style is orthogonal (in principle) to the acoustic question. It's unfortunate (for arch…
It seems like the debate comes down to "shoebox" vs. "vineyard":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineyard_style https://live.stanford.edu/blog/january-2013/note-vineyard-st...
Beside being absolutely hideous on the outside, there is no way that hall has good acoustics. Having seats to the side and behind the stage means you will have bad merging and resolution of parts. Orchestral seating is specifically designed for an audience sitting in front. For example, when attending a performance of Shostakovich'a Cello Concerto, the cello was very difficult to hear, as were several other orchestra…
I disagree entirely about it being hideous on the outside. I was extremely skeptical while living near Hamburg in 2006, when graphical representations were just being publicized. But having been back in the fall and seeing how it fits into the Speicherstadt and projects into the Elbe, I'm happy to have been proven wrong. > At some point, I recall the hall receiving the distinction of "worst hall" from performing musi…
Sorry, I wasn't very clear with my pronouns. I was referring to the Walt Disney Hall that I was describing in the paragraph before.
There are no miracles with acoustics. Try all you want with acoustic baffles, you won't be able to get good acoustics and distribution of orchestral parts with seats to the back right of an orchestra. There's nothing wrong with the traditional "bowl" shape of a good concert hall!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Beside being absolutely hideous on the outside, there is no way that hall has good acoustics." The architects are the Swiss practice Herzog and de Meuron. While your criticisms of the acoustics may be totally valid, it's a feature of the building that the shape of the hall is unrelated to the exterior envelope. So HdeM's exterior style is orthogonal (in principle) to the acoustic question. It's unfortunate (for arch…
Looked into this a bit more. It seems like the debate comes down to "shoebox" vs. "vineyard": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineyard_style https://live.stanford.edu/blog/january-2013/note-vineyard-st...
However, I'll do some more reading on it. Sadly, it seems there's a lot of political pandering and lack of critical hearing (reviewers don't know what to listen for), so it can be hard to find reliable or useful reviews. Nothing can substitute attending a hall and listening in person.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree entirely about it being hideous on the outside. I was extremely skeptical while living near Hamburg in 2006, when graphical representations were just being publicized. But having been back in the fall and seeing how it fits into the Speicherstadt and projects into the Elbe, I'm happy to have been proven wrong. > At some point, I recall the hall receiving the distinction of "worst hall" from performing musi…
> When was this? It's only been open a few months. Sorry, I wasn't very clear with my pronouns. I was referring to the Walt Disney Hall that I was describing in the paragraph before. There are no miracles with acoustics. Try all you want with acoustic baffles, you won't be able to get good acoustics and distribution of orchestral parts with seats to the back right of an orchestra. There's nothing wrong with the tradi…
Contrary to what the article states, the acoustic design of the hall have been widely criticized by audio/acoustics experts. In fact, after the premiere concert many (experts and casual visitors alike) have even described the acoustics to be a major disappointment.