Interesting that it states that "dance was the primary program that [new
Northrop] is designed around". I hope that doesn't mean that it will have
the acoustics of the Lincoln Center auditorium formerly known as the New
York State Theater (re-christened for a pair of super-rich, politically
meddlesome brothers that I'd prefer not credit by name). With the NY City
Ballet as its original tenant, it was created with a dead area onstage so
that there would be nothing audible radiating to the audience from the
dancing. Of course, when the late, lamented, City Opera moved from their
original home at City Center the singers found themselves trapped in this
same sonic void. Various tweaks, including some sort of amplification, were
tried over the years. None particularly successfully.
Hope this hasn't veered too far off-ARSC-topic.
Peter Hirsch
On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 8:09 AM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/232941131.html
>
> Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis was a non-ideal recording venue in the
> 1950s. Fortunately, Dorati and the Minneapolis Symphony made music good
> enough to out-shine the inferior hall acoustics. Unfortunately, nearby
> Edison High School and its good-sounding auditorium weren't discovered
> until very late in the Mercury-MSO contract.
>
> -- Tom Fine
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