Article: Calibrating My Ears at the San Francisco Symphony

[RichardSF]

On 7/19/2018 at 3:16 PM, loop7 said:

The next concert to which I had tickets was Mahler's 6th symphony (Tilson Thomas) in the First Tier but I swapped them for prime seats in the Second Tier. Well, the sound was so balanced, full and emotional that the experience is permanently imprinted into memory. Thinking it was the performance/piece and not the Second Tier, I then attended a few more concerts way up in those "cheap seats" and have never looked back. It's remarkable how much better the sound is up there than in the more expensive areas of Davies.

 

I began going to the SF Symphony starting from their final year at the Opera House (before Davies Hall was completed, in the era of Edo de Waart). I've attended many concerts in Davies Hall and have sat in every section. The 2nd Tier has the best sound and was good even before the 1992 acoustic renovation. The worst I experienced was sitting on the side of the 1st Tier for the Beethoven 9th. When the music got loud, there was a weird buzzing resonance from the other side of the hall. Last year, I was in the Orchestra section for a concert that included a piano concerto. The orchestra sounded fine but the piano didn't project well to where I was sitting (near center around row K). IMO, Davies Hall is too large and cavernous for ideal acoustics.

[RichardSF]

On 7/19/2018 at 10:28 AM, firedog said:

I wonder if any orchestra has contemplated doing something similar with DSP and classical?

 

On 7/19/2018 at 1:42 PM, Fitzcaraldo215 said:

No established first or second tier ensemble would consider that, I think, for classical music, opera, etc.  The audience would be aghast.  I know I would cancel my subscription.

 

It's been happening for many years, including some premier classical venues. Here's an article from 1999:

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/18/theater/enhancing-sound-in-a-hush-hush-way.html

 

 

[RichardSF]

19 hours ago, astrotoy said:

Davies Hall in SF has actually reduced its seating capacity, installing a central aisle so one can get to your seat in the orchestra (stalls) more easily.  They also added moveable clouds above the stage which really helps the musicians hear each other.

 

Davies Hall since the beginning always had clear acoustic panels hanging over the stage. The first panels were round discs and even before the renovation they had been replaced with larger, heavier rectangular panels in an attempt to reflect more sound back to the stage. Intuitively it would seem that a fundamental problem about Davies Hall is the vast open space above the stage where sound could escape up into the ether.