Concert halls: the "gold" standard

As I have often written, little has been done to improve (at least for acoustical properties) upon the "shoebox" design.  Back before acousticians and their extensive computer models, concert hall design was basically hit or miss.  But somewhere in the nineteenth century, someone came upon what would prove to be the biggest "hit."

Another consideration--at least in my view--is that the exterior of the hall should not detract from the interior.  A concert hall should not necessarily be an artist's or architect's statement; rather, the simpler the better.  Cases in point:  Carnegie Hall and the old Met are/were no great beauties from the outside, but once inside the house, the beauty was apparent.  It could be the basic simplicity of Carnegie or the almost gaudy pretentiousness of the old Met (though I love it).

Here are the concert halls, limited in number, upon which all others are compared.

Musikverein exterior: classical simplicity

The Great Hall of the Wiener Musikverein, Vienna.  Designed by Danish architect, Theophil Hansen, and opened in 1870, the hall is itself rather small by "American" standards, with seating capacity of 1,744 and standing room for an additional 300.  But, oh the sounds! 

Inside the "golden" hall

The sounds of one of the world's great orchestras resound through architect Adolf Leonard van Gendt's famed Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.  Completed in 1888 on land that was, at the time, devoted to pasture, the hall has a commanding presence in the central part of the modern city.  It, too, is not overly large, with seating captain of 1,974.  I'm sensing a pattern here.....

Concertgebouw--shares a square with the Royal and Van Gogh Museums

Nothing "in the way" of the resonance of the hall

And the final part of our golden triumvirate belongs to an American hall and no, it's not in New York, Chicago, Cleveland (although Severance Hall is a fine space) or Los Angeles.  Symphony Hall in Boston came into being rather late, having opened in 1900.  It was, in fact, one of the first concert halls designed with the aid of an acoustician, Harvard physics professor Wallace Clement Sabine.  With an overall design based upon Leipzig's Old Gewandhaus (destroyed during WW2), it has required only one renovation: a $250,000 restoration of the stage area in 2006, employing original materials and construction techniques.  The 2,625 leather seats are all original.  Symphony Hall remains a monument to its city and to the great orchestra that performs there.

Symphony Hall...looks familiar

So does this....the design that can hardly fail...

Up next:  New(er) halls done right...