??? My First Classical Concert,What Can I Expect ???
In my 65 years I've been to somewhere around 1000 rock/blues/reggae concerts..I've seen them all at one time or another,Led Zepp,The Stones,The Who,Pink Floyd,Carlos Santanna,SRV,BB King,Marley,Tosh,Cliff & on & on..
But in all those concerts,I've never been to a Classical Concert..Well I decided to change that & am going to my first one in early June..Nothing big time,our small town symphony performing Bachs Brandenburg Concerto's at one of the bigger churches of about 500 seats..
We'll be 6 rows from the stage,second & third seats in from center isle..In all the concerts I've ever been to,I don't ever recall listening for imaging or staging or micro detail or any of the things I sometimes listen for at home..I'm curious what I can expect regarding the Acoustics & if I get into critical listening mode what to look for as far as the technical aspects of the performance..
Am I overthinking this adventure,should I just sit back & let the experience flow whatever direction it takes?What are your thoughts?
The Royal Albert Hall dreadful echo….
Mendelssohn would have found the perfect venue to perform “Fingal’s Cave Overture” The last time l was in the “Hall” there were dozens of giant upside down acoustic mushrooms growing out of the dome ceiling. Plus multiple sails all over up there draped horizontally to dampen the echo effect. I cringe if there is a recording l want and find it was performed there. I think the architecture helps the concert experience when witnessed live, but adds nothing when listening back home. Give me The Festival Hall, or The Barbican anytime, but not the Recoil Albert Hall. |
Agreed! Even the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall had poor acoustics until fixed recently with A$100-million upgrade! Where was the article quoted above, when discussions turned to the best place to sit in a concert hall. It is not necessarily in the centre of 7th row back, as claimed by a forum member "because it is where he always sits"! If a concert has plenty of spare seats, I often gravitate to high up at the rear during interval! |
@immatthewj “Stay out of the mosh-pit” …. We all now know what kind of concerts you go to. @thecarpathian ”Where was the article quoted above” ?? No article….. just my own hearing experiences at The Royal Albert Hall. My own visits to the venue over the last 50 years. I am not a Londoner so have to travel as l live in the “Wild West” in the UK…..… yee haa! So this reply is mainly directed to “thecarpathian” Those visits comprise a dozen or so symphonic concerts, a few rock/pop and several Cinematic film showings with a full live orchestra. I have sat high up on all sides of the arena, plus first tier, stalls, “Loggia” boxes and “the choir” areas to the sides behind the orchestra. The “choir” was interesting as you get to see the conductor and observe all the musicians. The most interesting part seated there for me was watching the percussionists do their thing. They are normally buried behind everybody else. I heard plenty of echo except for the extreme rear areas (like you commented) as you at least avoid the back echo. The downside is, you don’t get a good view…just matchstick men. The Loggia boxes to the sides are the most comfortable with little reverb and echo but the orchestra sounds mellow and directionless…..like living in your own world wearing headphones and detached from the whole collective, shared experience with a large audience. So that’s my view and take on the RAH sound. A bit of trial and error to find a good spot to book your seats. I found the Stalls nearer the front for the best overall enjoyment with a more two (not multi) channel stereo. I attended the 2003 Ennio Morricone concert but he settled on other venues like the Rainbow and O2 later. I don’t know if that was a conscious decision but l know of no recordings from that event that have ever materialised on CD or DVD. A few records were released on Polydor of the yearly Filmharmonic concerts with The London Philharmonic Orchestra, and they all sound awful, directionless and diffuse. Jerry Goldsmith found no difficulty recreating the original soundtrack “echoplex delay” trumpet effect (from the film Patton) at the RAH…. There was plenty of echo inherent already. Those who know the music appreciate the trumpet echo effect of past battles in Pattons mind. His triumphant feeling of destiny, his belief that he was a reborn soldier from distant history. It was interesting for me to experience what the composer did to play the same piece of music at The Barbican. He sent two trumpeters up to the back of the hall to play the echo to achieve the same effect. I think that says it all about the Albert Hall Maybe..…I am a poet and, l didn’t know it? One things for sure Heard it all before… Like you said, Sir Thomas Beecham said, you will hear your performance more than once.
l hope all this was useful to those out there who are interested in concert hall acoustics. |
