REPORT 045
Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen. Image © Bjarne Bergius Hermansen WHICH WAY NOW?
Concert hall form has been determined by tradition, social commentary, construc- tability, frugality, political statement, and economic viability. Today, the listening environment drives concert hall form more than ever before. With the apparent mainstreaming of the surround hall and its distinct differences from the shoebox, it is a tempting conclusion to say that the concert hall has evolved to a freedom from form. However, concert hall form continues to govern the sound of halls, but now, thanks to time, critical listening, refined analysis and technology, a greater degree of control and selectivity is available. An orchestra that chooses to identify itself with a characteristic sound now has that opportunity. The adventurous programming of the LA Phil and the adventurous shape of the Walt Disney Concert Hall are not just an interesting coincidence. The bright, clear, present sound of the hall is consistent with the organisation’s commitment to modern and contemporary music and audience engagement. Once can only hope that the orchestras that have chosen to emulate that form in halls that will open in the near future have been so intent and are not simply following a trend.
The state of concert hall design provides an encouraging outlook for architecture. While it may be too early to tell if the new cohort of vineyard halls of the 21st cen- tury will be distinct from one another, it seems like a safe conclusion that the period of rigid conformance to traditional concert hall architecture has passed. Concerts are spatial events, to be experienced and identified with as a cultural as- sembly. Performances must remain spatial experiences. We must respond to the influence of modern media, but we must not allow technology to simplify, flatten, or homogenise the concert experience. Achieving this, while simultaneously engag- ing new audiences and staying relevant to an evolving society is the challenge for today’s classical music industry. The concert hall has always been defined by its cultural identity, its economic viabil- ity, and the experience that it contains. The current time is no different. While new challenges have emerged in recent times, the concert hall has always been a mal- leable form and continues to be. Is the concert hall at a crossroads? That presup- poses that the concert hall has been on a defined path, which it clearly has not. The concert hall is only in its adolescence as a building type, and it continues on its slow development toward maturity. Will there ever be cause to cease our innovation and understanding of the concert hall building type? Not as long as cultures, economies and technologies keep changing.
www.mondodr.com
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles. Image © David C. Miller
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