Simon Rattle and the new London concert hall...

[jean]

....would rather see someone like Petrenko...take over at the LSO!

Hands off! You're not getting him!

[Beef Oven!]

Aaah
But those are the expensive seats specially designed for those with more money than sense (those who don't like the plebs sneaking in next to them after the interval)

teamsaint's not really a pleb.

[teamsaint]

teamsaint's not really a pleb.

.... I heard that....Pardon !

Oh, and I was a witness at a wedding ceremony today, I don't think they let plebs do that, do they ?

( good thing they moved the Saints game to tomorrow !!)

[Beef Oven!]

.... I heard that....Pardon !

Oh, and I was a witness at a wedding ceremony today, I don't think they let plebs do that, do they ?

( good thing they moved the Saints game to tomorrow !!)

They do, it's just church weddings that will bar you

[teamsaint]

They do, it's just church weddings that will bar you

any particular denomination?

( and don't say £10 notes or larger !!)

It might have been in a church .......

[Beef Oven!]

It might have been in a church .......

It wasn't

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

No one has told me what exactly is WRONG with the RFH acoustic?

This might interest some of you

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/publications/rdreport_1951_15

Interesting indeed. But things have moved on since then, and have (maybe) improved.

I remember performing in a large choir with orchestra in 1985 and it was like singing in a field. Yet the recording of the concert, using a simple stereo pair of mikes, was more than satisfactory.

[MrGongGong]

Interesting indeed. But things have moved on since then, and have (maybe) improved.

The new acoustic in the RFH is very good indeed both on the stage and in the auditorium.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The new acoustic in the RFH is very good indeed both on the stage and in the auditorium.

So is there no longer electronic enhancement?

http://audio-vision.me/2014/03/25/auditorium-acoustics/

[MrGongGong]

So is there no longer electronic enhancement?

No (apart from the reinforcement speakers in the boxes which wouldn't be used for orchestral concerts apart from if there was spoken word with orchestra)

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/rfh_acoustics.pdf

One aspect of this that is often overlooked is to do with how venue acoustics shape the sound of the musicians who regularly play in a particular venue.
This was discussed a bit before the RFH refurbishment. How much is the characteristic sound of (for example) the Philharmonia to do with the way in which they spent so much time playing on a stage with a 'difficult' acoustic? Did the extra attention to matters of ensemble and balance affect the way in which they play everywhere?
And, apart from the ridiculous fantasy vanity project that seems to be being discussed at the moment, do we really want ALL concert halls to have the same acoustic signature?

[Flosshilde]

Sir Simon for several concerts each season

Isn't that basically what Gergiev does now - fly in for a few concerts? And Runnicles does for the BBCSSO, & Ticciati with the SCO. It seems to me that principal conductors, or chief conductors, or whatever their called, don't spend much time with 'their' orchestras.

[Petrushka]

One aspect of this that is often overlooked is to do with how venue acoustics shape the sound of the musicians who regularly play in a particular venue.

This has been Rattle's precise point with regard to the London Symphony Orchestra which he says is a far better orchestra when heard in other halls as against their regular home in the Barbican. A new hall would benefit those outside London as I for one will be going there, assuming it's built in my lifetime. 'Benefit' doesn't have to mean just financial benefit.

[Petrushka]

Isn't that basically what Gergiev does now - fly in for a few concerts? And Runnicles does for the BBCSSO, & Ticciati with the SCO. It seems to me that principal conductors, or chief conductors, or whatever their called, don't spend much time with 'their' orchestras.

I think Alison meant if Rattle wasn't principal conductor. If there is one thing that Rattle has shown throughout his professional life it is commitment to the orchestras of which he is principal conductor. The Gergiev style of flying in for a concert on no rehearsal, arriving at the hall with seconds to spare, is anathema to Rattle. He has shown what artistic dividends this pays.

[Lento]

A profile of Rattle in the Sunday Times says he does not intend to move domestically to London, whatever happens, as he has a settled home life in Berlin. Rattle also thinks it's time for him to be at home more and to allow his wife to make the best of her singing years.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

No (apart from the reinforcement speakers in the boxes which wouldn't be used for orchestral concerts apart from if there was spoken word with orchestra)

Thanks for the info, MrGG. I've always wanted to know more about the RFH enhancement because of the following:-

When I was still at primary school in the 1950s, we went on holiday to a cottage in Fairbourne, on the mid-Wales coast. By co-incidence, I recognised an older boys who was staying just two doors away as being from my school. I told my parents and my father called round to introduce himself to the boy's parents. In subsequent years they struck up a friendship, and in the mid-60s, my father told me that Mr C__ had "sorted out the RFH" acoustics. When I came to buying my first hi-fi system in 1970, we were somewhat surprised when Mr C__ himself was sent by Avgarde Gallery, Manchester, to set it up. I had assumed him to be an architect or acoustician, not an electronics expert. From then on, I wanted to know more, learning a little about electronic sound enhancement, and about how it had been used elsewhere.